Come Along With Me
by Luminous Blane
Summary: FinnXFP, takes place after Hot To The Touch, will continue with this timeline after it becomes impossible in canon. a hero shows a princess the lands beyond her kingdom.
1. Chapter 1

Come Along With Me

By

Luminous Blane

for: me. Is a stupid self induldgent thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own adventure time, pendleton ward makes it, cartoon network owns it, it's awesome and I love it.

Datclaimer: it's self indulgent as all get out, so I feel ok making stupid jokes.

Notes to the reader: All korean was regular dialogue put through babylon's website. Tried switching it back, not all of it works, but you should get the gist without re-translating it. Also, because Bonnibel is a gaelic name, I decided to take the same route to try to find a fitting name for the Flame Princess. (Searching Gaelic girl's names that have fire connotations.) Lastly, she is less tsundere in this fic due to how she acted before Jake said Finn wasn't that into her, and after Finn showed her his eye leaking powers. The parts that would label her tsundere involved her being pissed off and with good reason.

"Father..." The Flame Princess solemnly approached the king's throne, head hung low. "I have returned to resume my imprisonment." The Flame King frowned at his daughter's dismay, pushing forth the lever to return her lantern to the floor, allowing her to seal herself away.

"Did you not like prince Finn of the Grasslands?" He asked, as he raised the lantern above his throne.

"I did, but...He and I are far too different. There lies only pain for us in each other's arms." She sighed, slumping to the floor of her cell, and drifted sadly into sleep, awoken by shouts not long after.

"I'm sorry he lied!" Finn bellowed, pushing the Flame King's soldiers back, "But Jake was just trying to help me get over Princess Bubblegum, and it worked!"

"Hold!" The Flame King ordered, ushering his guards back to their posts, and off of the flame-shielded dog and human. "You know Bonnibel Bubblegum, Princess of the Candy Kingdom?"

"I do." Finn replied, pushing a tuft of hair back under his hat, and straightening it upon his head.

"But you are a lowly peasant!"

"Peasant?" Bubblegum asked, entering the room. "Sorry I'm late Finn." She turned her attention back to the Fire King. "This boy is Finn the Human! He is a rescuer of princesses, a helper of those in need, and a righteous hero. He has saved myself and my kingdom on numerous occasions. He has worn the gauntlet of Billy the Hero and dispatched the Lich King when it escaped from its amber prison. He may not be royalty, but he is far from a peasant. And he's rich."

"I am?" Finn asked, perplexed.

"Well, duh, Finn. That's what having all that treasure in your treasure room means. It means you're incredibly wealthy."

"What's going on!" The Flame Princess demanded. "Finn, I thought you were a water elemental!"

"That's why he's here, Edana." Finn looked confused once more.

"Wait, her name's-" Bubblegum put a hand over his mouth.

"Finn, you know a commoner can't use the name of royalty without their express permission! It's extremely impertinent!"

"Imperwuh? Why doesn't Marceline mind, then?"

"Because she's Marceline and that's how she feels about rules." She cleared her throat, turning back to the prison suspended above them. "It's been some time since I've seen you at the annual Grand Meeting of Ooo Royalty."

"I have submitted myself to consensual imprisonment due to my evil ways..."

"That's something else I wanna talk to you about, Flame Princess. Your majesty, is there any way I can convince you to let me and Jake and PB talk to her in private?" He knelt to the king, bowing his head.

"A hero of such mettle... Very well, Finn the Human. I shall do as you ask. Guards, clear the courtyard, and be wary of my daughter on her approach thence." He lowered the lamp prison, allowing Flame Princess to exit. She glared at Finn and Princess Bubblegum the whole way to the courtyard, though didn't seem to mind Jake much.

"Here we are. Now, please, be quick. I'm supposed to be imprisoned forever, and you're cutting into my time."

"First off, I asked PB to come with us because she's one of my best friends, and because you make my head work bad. And also not talk good." Jake rolled his eyes at Finn's ineloquence.

"He has requested that I explain to you the nature of the water he produces. You see, as you learned in the throne room, he's a human. Possibly the last in existence. Humans are mostly made of water, and must take in quite a bit throughout the day to keep their levels up. When particularly sad or otherwise distraught, they begin to cry."

"I'm no stranger to crying, Bonnibel..." Flame Princess looked to the ground, remembering all the nights she spent in solitude and isolation.

"Yes, but when humans cry, they secrete a watery mixture called 'tears.' I know you've got your own sort of tears that the fire people cry, but these are different. They're not something I'd wager you've encountered before you met Finn. In truth, most beings excrete them when saddened."

"So, if you're not a water elemental, all the times you hurt me were on purpose. Barring, perhaps, one. Why did you ever send your...wait, why is the Baron still living?" At Flame Princess's inquiry, Princess Bubblegum and Finn shared a look of confusion.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I came here without Finn knowing about it. He'd never even heard of you." Jake told her. "I'm actually a magic dog. I made the Finn you met in the throne room out of part of me. Like this!" He squished and stretched, and the next thing Flame Princess knew, two Finns were present, along with Jake and Bubblegum.

"You're not evil, are you?" Finn blurted out, then began to blush as he felt all eyes, including those of his torso-born doppleganger on him. "What? I don't think she's evil!"

"Yes..." Flame Princess sighed sadly, eyes locked on the ground. "All my life, all I've done is destroy... Every time something gets me happy, or mad, I start burning everything around me...why would I have these powers if I weren't meant to use them?" her head shot up and she began scowling at her visitors. "They all talk about how I'm an out of control evil monster...well, no matter what I try to do, I can't control it!... I was born with these powers because I'm meant to be evil. So I decided evil was the only thing for me to be, and I made my father hold me in a prison where he could keep watch on me."

"See? That right there!" Finn shouted, causing sparks to fly from a startled Flame Princess onto the others, whose flame shields luckily blocked them out. "That's not something a bad guy does! You can't control the powers, so you locked them away, even though it cost your freedom! That takes guts, Princess. That's something a good guy would do." At this, the princess began to burn brighter, blushing red hot.

"But still...I would only hurt those around me..." Finn stood up, then turned to his friends.

"Peebles, I want you to see if you can't science up a solution. Jake, I want _you_ to go ask Marceline if she knows of anything that can help. She's been around almost as long as Ooo. I'm gonna go see if Choose Goose has anything in stock." Jake and Bubblegum nodded, the latter filling a test tube with some of Flame Princess's magical fire, then left the courtyard.

"You're just pretending. You won't find a solution. There's no hope for me." Finn took her hand in his, and stared deeply into her eyes.

"I swear to you, on my totally rad demon-blood family sword that I will keep LOOKING UNTIL I FIND A WAY TO HELP YOU OW OW OW FLAME SHIELD'S WEARING OFF!" He ran from the kingdom, joining Bubblegum on Jake's back as he quickly stretched them out of the burning lands.

"I have to say Finn, I'm glad you don't have a crush on me anymore..." The human boy began to practically glow red with embarrassment. "I knew for a long time, and I was flattered, but I just didn't know how to let you down easy. I was trying to wait for you to get over me, and I'm glad you finally have." Finn swallowed his embarrassment and nodded.

"Sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable, Peebles... But I want you to know, even though I wanna date a different girl than you, you're still one of my best buds, and I'm happy to help whenever the candy kingdom has a problem!"

"Well, for right now, let's work on the Flame Princess's problem." The three went in separate directions, with Finn arriving at his destination first.

"Choose Goose, do you have anything to get a girl's magic powers under control?" The goose's neck rolled around, his arms flopping about his own torso.

"To quell powers, you desire? Might this be for the princess of fire? If so, I have just what you wish. With this ring, she'll be extinguished!" He offered forth a glimmering ring.

"Ok, and what do you want for it?"

"Finn, you fill me with surprise! Your quest is truly her demise?"

"Wait, what? No, I don't want to kill her, I just want to help her get her powers toned down, so she's in charge of them."

"The ring's the best I can do. Perhaps with it in hand, another solution will appear to you?" Finn gave Choose Goose a leveled glare. "Look, the rhymes can't all be gold. The ring is yours free, if no one is told!"

"Deal!" Finn snatched the ring and ran off toward the candy kingdom.

Meanwhile, in a distant cave system, Jake the dog was knocking on the door of a pink house. "Marceline! Yo, you home, girl?"

"I am now." she replied, causing the magical dog to jump. "I was out picking up some snacks for this weekend's jam session. So inconvenient. Why can't you guys just suck colors out of stuff?"

"Well, actually, when me and Lady are out on dates..." he shook his head violently, regaining his tentative focus. "Not important! Do you know of anything that would, for instance, make me a regular dog? I don't wanna be a regular dog, but there's this girl who does. A regular girl I mean."

"A regular girl who wants to be a regular dog?"

"No, no, a magical girl who wants to be a regular dog. GIRL! Wants to be a regular girl."

"Yeah, hang on. I gotta put this stuff away." She walked past him, grocery bags in hand, and began placing their contents in the fridge. "So, about fifteen years ago, this total jerk went and put a ring on me. Sucked all my vampire magic and dark energy away. I gave it to Choose Goose, told him it could kill magical beings. That way he won't trust it to just anybody. Took a kiss I had to get from someone who loved me to get the dang thing off, and it took years to find someone who loved me."

"Wow, that's embarrassing. Got any other stories like that?" Jake asked, pulling out a pen and notepad.

"Nah, not right now. So, yeah, ask Choose Goose."

"No need. Finn already did. And PB is looking into it at her lab. If he thinks it'll kill the princess, he's probably headed to the candy kingdom to try to find a way to change its powers. Wanna meet the girl he's falling for?"

"Yeah, sure. Not now, though. Bring her by when it's time to jam."

"Ok. See ya, Marcy."

"Later, Jake." Marceline settled into a soft hover over her house and proceeded to suck the red out of a dress she'd found.

Within an hour, Finn and Jake had reunited with Princess Bubblegum in her lab.

"So, the ring won't kill her?" Finn asked, examining it.

"Nah, that's just something Marcy told Choose Goose so he wouldn't sell it to anybody except responsible dudes like us." Jake replied, poking the magical flame sample that Peebles had collected, grimacing, and sucking his finger in pain.

"So, do you think it'll work?" Finn handed the ring to Princess Bubblegum for her expert scientific analysis. She placed it in a small container and activated a large machine.

"We'll soon know the results of combining the power stealing abilities of the ring and the magic of a fire elemental's flame. I already entered the flame's data into the Magigraph." She sat down and the three simply lounged in awkward silence waiting for results. After fifteen minutes of Princess Bubblegum slapping Jake's paw every time he tried to stick his finger into the magic flame again, it the results were printed from the machine.

"Hmm... uh huh...I see...Peebles, I can't read this science writing." Finn told the princess, handing the paper to her.

"Oh my...well, according to the analysis, the two magics would interact in an appropriate manner to turn off her powers, but it looks like Choose Goose was right after all...unless...Jake, the analysis says the ring is cursed and won't come off. Did Marceline say anything about this? DON'T TOUCH THAT!" she slapped his paw again, getting his attention. "did. Marceline. Say. Anything. About. Getting. The. Ring. Off."

"Oh, yeah, you gotta get a smooch from someone who loves you. Why?"

"Oh...oh my...that explains so..." She shook her head, blushing heavily. "Alright, Finn, I want you to go tell the Flame Princess that we're getting closer to a solution. Jake, you stay, and be ready to pucker up after I call Lady Rainicorn. I need to factor the magic of a love-kiss into this."

"Yeah, ok, but make sure she knows it's for Finn. She's not always comfortable with the public stuff." Jake stared at the princess, who seemed to be waiting to say something. When Finn was out of ear shot, she finally spoke.

"She told me about the cabbage farmer."

"That was different! We weren't smoochin' on each other then." Jake blushed but laughed at the offense he and Lady had caused.

As Finn approached the edge of the verdant plains, he found the Flame Princess sitting at the border of the burning lands, alone, and downcast. "Hey! Flame Princess!" he called to her, causing her to burn brighter as she stared in disbelief.

"You...you came back..." Finn sat near her, keeping himself back a bit, both to keep from violating her personal space, and to avoid being burned.

"Totally, Flame Princess. I told you I would, didn't I? Why would I lie about something like that?" He braved the flame to wipe the sparks she cried from her cheeks. The princess stared in disbelief at his flesh, a painful shade of red from contact with her.

"But... why...Why do you do these things?" More sparks began trailing her cheeks as she clenched her eyes shut. "Finn, why do you do this even though I know it's so painful for you... Why do you even bother trying to find a way to help me when all I've done is lash out at you?"

"Well, I'm trying to help you because you need help getting the power under control. You said yourself you could never handle it, so now we're getting a way to help you handle it. And I'm helping you because I think I like-like you, and want to get to know you better."

"Wait...so, you're not looking for a solution because you want to be with me?" She stared at him quizzically, having thought that this was his motivation all along, but now his voice made it seem as if he had two different answers for her questions.

"Oh, Glob no. If you liked having your powers all blazey and fiery, I'd be down with that. But you seemed so sad earlier, when you talked about all the destruction you caused. I want to do whatever I can to keep you from being that sad ever again." He smiled softly as she blushed, the flames around her growing larger.

"Finn...Thank you...for everything...So, you have a solution now?" Finn's face went white.

"Uhh, we're working on it...they wanted me to report progress, and, uh, we found this magic ring that'll stop your powers from being all over the place, but it'll also kill you. So we need a way around the second half of that...sorry..." Once more, the princess fell into a dark gloom. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, until we get this solved, I'll meet you right here every day at this same time. Y'know, unless the world's gonna end, or Ice King has someone kidnapped. But even then, I'll show up. And if I'm late and you're gone, I'll leave you a note for the next day, ok?" She brightened once more, blushing heavily.

"Surely, you must be one of the candy people..." Finn stared at her, perplexed.

"N-no, I'm human...we went over that earlier, remember?"

"But how else could your words be so sweet?" She batted her eyes at him, giggling. "You are a boy of honor, Finn...and I will hold you to your word...would...would you mind staying here with me? If only a short while longer?" Finn nodded, blushing heavily, and breaking eye contact out of embarrassment.

As they sat and chatted it up, the sun began to fall, and the moon grew bright in the sky. Finally, Jake and Lady Rainicorn arrived, Princess Bubblegum astride the latter's rainbow back.

"Finn!" Jake scolded, "You've been gone all day! We were waiting for you to come back so we could tell you!"

"Tell me what?"

"We did it, Finn! It took LOTS of testing and experiments, but we finally found a solution!" Princess Bubblegum slapped a box into his hand, the ring inside, a faded crystal now set in it. "The ring would have drained all of her magic, and she can't restore it, or live without it, and it can't be removed unless its powers are broken by the kiss of someone who truly loves her. Unfortunately, the ring dissipated the energy fed into it, and Flame Princess would not be able to regenerate quickly enough to survive for more than a few minutes. We couldn't circumvent the dissipation, so we implemented it. As the energy is dissipated, on its way into nothingness it will be captured in the jewel, and whatever overflows out of the jewel will melt off into nothing, so she'll have more time. Still, she wouldn't live long. Finally, it hit me. The cancellation! We could alter that function to allow removal of the ring, but also recycle energy into her while dampening her own regeneration. It would take the magic out of her, just enough to fill the crystal, and then send it back into her, and it would slow down how fast she got her power back. Eventually she'll reach a stable state where she won't be able to burn anything without trying, and trying hard, too." Everyone clapped as Princess Bubblegum concluded her lecture.

"So, all we need now," She added, "is someone who truly loves her. And that's you, Finn." Finn's face turned beet red, as he looked around.

"I-buh-I...I like her a lot, and I definitely like-like her, but, I mean, we just met...I don't know if I can risk her life like that..." He felt searing heat as the box was swiped from his hand, burning away as the flame princess held it in her palm, until only the ring remained.

"I can." She told him, placing the ring on her finger. Immediately, she went out, falling to her knees and clutching her chest. "Fff...Finn...it hurts...please, try... I beg you..."

"Princess!" He grabbed her in his arms, turning her to her back, then looked at the faces of his friends. "Wh..why!"

"Because I trust you...because...I like you...because..." She coughed and gasped, the pain in her chest growing heavier. "Because maybe...just maybe...it'll work if I truly love you instead...please...hurry..." she clenched her eyes shut, trembling in his arms. Finn took a deep breath, steeled his resolve, and pressed his lips to hers. The ring was already full, and the cycle already under way. All that was left was to wait to see if she would regenerate her power.

"Princess..." His eyes were shut tight, as he held her close in his arms, his tears falling on her shoulder. Suddenly, she began to feel warmer, and he felt her arms coming around him as well.

"It doesn't hurt, Finn...your tears...they're warm..." She pulled back, and smiled weakly at him. She was still dark and dull, but her hair had begun to burn softly, with only a low heat. As the seconds passed, she grew more and more colorful. She stood, pulling away from the embrace entirely, and moved towards her kingdom. "I must tell my father...oh. Oh wait...I...he tends to be over protective...I fear he may jump to conclusions when he sees this ring on me... Guard!" a guard popped out of a magma filled crater and saluted her. "Tell my father what has transpired, and that I wish to spend time in the freedom of the unburned world, to learn and explore...after a good night's rest..." She stumbled to her knees, Finn rushing to her side, putting his arm around her.

"I...I'm still quite weak, and it's very late..." She smiled at him, breathing a bit heavily.

"Come on." Finn told her, helping her up. "You can stay with me and Jake tonight." Jake's eyes went wide.

"Finn, we can't let a classy dame like a princess sleep on our couch!" Finn paused.

"I guess you're right, Jake...so, I'll take the couch. You don't mind if she sleeps in my bed, do you, Jake?"

"Man, I dunno if I'm entirely comfortable with that..." The dog replied, eyeing the Flame Princess.

"당신이 나와 함께 머물 수 있다면 오늘과 같은 것이었습니다." Lady said, nuzzling Jake's cheek.

"Change of plans. She gets our room to herself, I'm gonna spend tonight hanging' at Lady's pad." He climbed onto her back, and rode her into the sky, the hero and princesses watching them disappear into the night.

"...WAIT! LADY, YOU'RE MY RIDE HOME! Verdammt... I guess I'm walking... See you two later." She began to head home, but Finn put a hand on her arm.

"You can stay over too, if you want... It's twice as far to the Candy Kingdom as it is to my house..." Bubblegum smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Now, Finn...You know there's no more sleeping space in your house. And besides, I think you two should have some alone time, now that you don't hurt each other." Flame Princess and Finn's faces grew red, and Princess Bubblegum trekked home.

"Well, let's go, I guess...um, can you walk ok? or...I mean, do you want me to carry you?" He was blushing heavily. "I can carry you no problem, but, I mean, if you want to walk, that's alright, I mean, whatever you want to do, you know?" The Princess's blush exceeded his own as she stared at the ground.

"Well, uh, I guess I should try to walk, but...Oh! Whoops!" she exclaimed, poorly acting as if she tripped, slowly easing herself onto the ground. "I'm sorry. That was terrible. I thought I could do that better..."

"You don't need to be fake with me, Princess." He picked her up with ease, and ran back home. He kicked the front door open, walking through the treasure room. Her eyes went wide at the sight of all his gold and various nicknacks. "Alright, um...ladders...here, uh..." He tried to shift her in his arms to a state where he could ascend, but soon she climbed out of his grip.

"Don't worry, Finn. I can handle this part." She began to climb the ladder, then, blushing profusely, climbed back down. "Maybe you should go first...I'm..um...in a dress..." Finn nodded, his cheeks reddening, and he scaled the ladder, the princess close behind him. She found herself even more shocked at the sight of the gold filling the tree's hollow trunk.

"Ok, here we are at the living room, there's the kitchen over there, and I'll be sleeping on this couch. Bedroom's right up that ladder. My bed's the one that's not a drawer." He smiled at the princess, who looked down at the floor, rubbing her hand.

"May...May I ask you to accompany me? I would like to spend more time with you...just talking..." Finn nodded, and began to make his way to the ladder, before an electronic voice halted him.

"Hello! I am Beemo! Do you wish to play a video game?" The computer tugged gently on the princess's dress, smiling up at her.

"Wh...I don't understand..." Finn moved back to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Video games are awesome, but not right before bed. If you start playing just before bed, you end up staying up all night and not getting any sleep." He turned his attention to Beemo. "Sorry, buddy, but Flame Princess has had a big day, and she's gonna need some shut eye pretty soon."

"Ok, Finn! Beemo will go into sleep mode now." He sat on the floor, and his face went blank.

Finn hurried up the ladder, and grabbed his sleeping bag and pajamas. Once the princess reached the top of the ladder, he dropped them down. "Now I don't have to worry about forgetting them. This is my bed, right here." He sat down, and patted the layers of pelts, motioning for her to join him. Fiddling with her fingers a bit, she hesitantly joined him.

"Would...would you hold my hand?" She asked, offering it to him.

"O-of course. I'd love to." He took her hand in his own, and smiled at her. She smiled back, then looked around the room, squeezing his hand. She spotted something on the floor that caught her eye.

"Chapter Five...Kissing Princesses...Kissing a princess is not like kissing your grandmother or your moth-" Finn jumped to his feet, snatching the book, and slamming it shut. Flame Princess stared blankly at him.

"I...uh, sorry, this is the Enchiridion...it's a manual for heroes...hero's eyes only..."

"Oh, I see...So tell me, Finn the hero...why is it open to a princess kissing chapter?" She giggled as he began to stutter, and watched as he dropped his book down to the living room. Clearing his throat and taking time to sort his thoughts, he joined her on the bed once more.

"I...I thought it'd come in handy sometime soon...So...did it?" He blushed heavily, staring into her eyes.

"I was overcome with terrible pain, Finn...I didn't even know you had kissed me until the pain stopped..." They sat a moment in awkward silence. "I could find out if it came in handy now...If, if you...um...if you'd like..."

"Uh...Yeah, if, y'know, you don't mind..." For a while they stared at one another, each waiting for the other to make a move.

"Well, um...would you care to lead? You...you're the one with a manual..." Finn gulped audibly, staring at her soft orange cheeks.

"Uh, yeah, um...ok..." He put his hand on her shoulder, another in the middle of her back, and slowly moved in, lips puckered, closing his eyes as he drew nearer to her. She rested one hand on his chest, the other on his shoulder, began to move in as well, the distance between them closing fast. Their lips met and they felt their cheeks growing hot, their heartbeats quickening, their breath growing quicker. After a few moments, they each pulled back, each staring into the eyes of the other.

"Well...how was it...?"

"Um, it...wow...it was amazing...I feel a little light headed even..." At these words, Finn stood up and grabbed a stool, sitting on it.

"If you need to, you can go ahead and lay down... oh, and if you fall asleep, don't worry, I'll give you privacy...and-"

"Will you explain to me the history of your relationship with the princess of the candy kingdom?" She was almost certain that the answer would be devastating, especially taking into account the intelligence, beauty, and kindness of Bubblegum against her own sheltered, destructive life.

"Oh, she's my best friend. I used to have a super huge crush on her, and we kinda had a date once when she died and got put back together as a thirteen year old, but when she went eighteen again, she wasn't really interested and kinda dumped me...I was pretty heart broken for a long time...it got real ugly. Then Jake got you to come attack my home, and I managed to leave those feelings behind... She's still one of my best friends, but I really don't see her as worth crushing over anymore. Especially when there's an even cuter princess that's here. One that...I...um...like-like."

_Not as bad as I thought it would be..._ She thought to herself. "...Finn, for the last seven years, I have spent every night locked in a lamp prison in the throne room of the Flame Castle, all alone, with no company at all. This might be unwise, given what I've overheard about young men and urges, but...I don't want spend another night alone...will...will you stay with me?" Finn stared at her for a moment, then dropped down the hole into the living room, trudging back up with his pajamas on, and his sleeping bag under his arm.

"I don't know what that urges thing means, but if it's that thing Jake had Doctor Princess explain to me at the hospital, then you got nothin' to worry about. Cuz that stuff will be impossible if we set it up like this..." He pulled a pelt up from the bed over her as a blanket. "This will make sure you don't feel too cold." He then crawled into his sleeping bag on top of the pelt on the other side of the bed, zipping it around himself. "Does that make you feel better about this?" He was frowning heavily, staring at her. He didn't want to stay in the room just to be able to be with her, he wanted to do it to make her happy, to make her more comfortable, but if it made her ill at ease, he wasn't about push it.

"Y-yes...a bit..." At the reluctance in her voice, he rolled over, falling off the bed, then rolled back the other way.

"How about if I'm under the bed?" He smiled, hearing her giggle.

"I think that's perfect... Do you mind if I turn out the light now?"

"Go for it, FP."

"FP?" She asked, reaching over to turn out the light. "What does that mean?"

"You know," The light clicked out, "Short for Flame Princess." After a moment of silence, he heard her speak uncertainly.

"When we're alone... I want you to call me Edana... it's...it's a big deal for royalty, and I'm not ready for word to get around that we're already so close...I'm afraid that people will start talking, and word will get back to my father, and he'll be angry with you...but when we're alone..."

"You got it, Edana. Edana. Edana. That's fun to say." He heard her giggling once again, and smiled to himself in the darkness. "You've got a really pretty laugh..."

She felt her cheeks get hot in the dark, smiling softly to herself. "Thank you, Finn..."

"No problem. Want me to tell you about what else is pretty about you?"

"No, not that, I meant...well, yes, that, and maybe you can tell me what else about me is pretty later, but...I meant for everything...you stirred feelings in my hearth, the first I've had in so long aside from rage and sadness...you saw through my anger to my pain...and you persisted, even when I pushed you away...thank you for that...and...even more, thank you for helping me control the inferno raging within me..."

"I...you're welcome, Edana. And thank you, too..."

"Wh-what are you thanking ME for...?"

"For trusting in me when you put the ring on...and for saying you love me...I...I love you too...at least, I think I do..."

"I know...you wouldn't have been able to stop the ring otherwise."

"Well, maybe it's like you said, and ring would have stopped if you loved me, and-"

"No...as a magical being, I could sense the moment I put it on that I was wrong about that...I'm sorry I scared you, by the way...when I put the ring on..."she trailed off, falling to sleep.

"Goodnight, Edana..." Finn whispered to her, going to sleep as well.

Later in the night, the light was switched back on. Edana shrieked when she saw a tall blue figure standing over her as she slept.

"Whassup. You seen Finn and Jake?" The Ice king asked, smiling cluelessly. Finn shifted his body and glared up at him from the floor. "Oh, hi, Finn. Why are you sleeping on the floor? Did the girl steal your bed? Who's the girl, by the way?"

"Ugh...This is the Flame Princess, she's spending the night here, and before you get any crazy princess stealing ideas in your head, she's my age, and we both know you don't go that young."

"Right on. Wanna hang out?"

"Ice king, I'll spend ten minutes hanging out with you next time you do something that makes me have to whoop your butt, ok? But right now it's really late and me and Flame Princess had a big exhausting day. Could you please leave?"

"Where's Jake? Maybe I can hang out with him."

"He's with the Lady Rainicorn..." Edana told him in shock, huddled to the far side of the bed, a fur wrapped around herself.

"Oooh, private lady hang out times. Gotcha. Ok, see ya later, Finn!" The Ice King's beard began to flap as he flew out the open window, pausing to shut it behind himself, and returned to his kingdom.

Finn shifted back under the bed, sighing. "Sorry about that, Edana. You wanna turn the light out again?" With a thump, she fell to the floor, huddling in against his sleeping bag encased form. "wh...what're you doing?"

"What was that creature? I...I never felt so terrified..."

"That's the Ice King. He steals princesses, and he's got a magic crown that gives him ice powers and made him crazy and immortal. He's not good with people and he's kind of a jerk, so me and Jake have to beat him up and rescue princesses from him. But he won't try to steal you. You're too young for him." Finn nuzzled up against her, his sleeping bag keeping him from hugging her to give her more comfort.

"An immortal...ice elemental?" She nuzzled in closer. "That's what it was...I could feel his power..."

"Yeah... I guess I can see why that'd be so scary for you...but I beat him up all the time, and he won't bother you until he thinks you're old enough anyway. We've got time before you gotta worry about him. Now, uh, do you want me to turn out the light, or..."

"No, I got it..." She responded, her terror drowned out by Finn's courage and kindness. She climbed out from under the bed, turned off the light, and snuggled in, the scent of Finn from the bed soothing her to sleep. In the morning, an entirely different scent awoke her. She stood and stretched, yawning. Under the bed, she found an empty sleeping bag.

"Finn?" She called out, looking around, clutching her hands nervously in front of her chest. "Finn, where are you?"

"I'm downstairs!" He shouted back. She quickly followed his voice to the source, and smiled as she saw him sitting at the table, a plate in front of him.

"What is that smell?" She asked.

"Bacon and eggs with waffles!" Jake replied, walking over to the table and setting four plates down. "Me and Lady made breakfast for you guys."

"Oh, food!" She said excitedly, sitting next to Finn, blushing and looking over at him. "I can't wait! I've never had a chance to taste before!" Everyone stared at her, perplexed. "Oh, well, before the ring, everything turned to ash when it passed my lips...everything was dry and bitter..." Their looks of confusion changed to those of pity and concern. She took her first bite of the eggs and began to glow, her light shining even brighter when she ate a strip of the bacon.

"OH MY GLOB THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!" She shouted, shoveling all of her bacon down her mouth in one handful. Everyone laughed, and she felt her cheeks growing hot. "S-stop it! It's not funny!"

"No, no, we're not laughing because we think it's funny...well, maybe it is funny, but that's because it's true! And anyway, I was laughing because it made me happy that you liked the bacon so much. Oh, here." Finn handed her a bottle of maple syrup. "This goes on the waffles." Edana took the bottle tentatively, and squirted a large amount on her waffles, and took a tiny bite.

"Oh grod...this is sooo good! It's all so good! Why didn't anyone tell me tasting things tasted so good!" she ate quickly, her eyes sparkling as her flame tears welled up. In a few moments, her food was finished. "That was all so wonderful, thank you, Jake. But...now my throat feels all gunked up..."

"Oh, you probably need something to drink. Y'know, to wash it down." Finn pushed a glass of milk towards her. "Here, try this...oh, but it...it might hurt you..."

"No, Finn...it would have before, but I'm no longer coated in flame." She grabbed the glass and chugged it down. "Wow...that's so refreshing!" A knock came at the door, heavy and loud, causing her to drop the glass, which shattered all over the floor.

"DAUGHTER?" The Flame King shouted. "I WISH TO SPEAK TO YOU! ARE YOU IN THERE? IF YOU'RE NOT, THEN WHERE ARE YOU?" Finn rushed to the window, pushing it open and sticking his head out.

"She just finished breakfast, we'll be right down!" He told him, and headed for the ladders with the Flame Princess, allowing her to go down all of them before he did. They stepped out of the tree fort and found the Flame King looming over them.

"My sweet baby girl. Look at you. Covered in gunk and goop." A fiery hand cleared syrup and milk from her lips and cheeks.

"Daaad, not in front of my boyfriend..." He sighed, and turned his gaze to Finn.

"Finn, she has missed much since she decided she must be evil. I was heartbroken to keep her imprisoned, but it was at her own demand. She knows the fire kingdom intimately, but little of anything else. So I have some requests to make of you." Finn nodded, a look of determination on his face.

"Number one. Allow her to stay with you." The teens exchanged a look of shock. "The more exposure she gets to the outside world, the better. I know you will protect and care for her, as I have been on the phone all night, discussing you with various princesses."

"Dad, running background checks on him? That's rude!"

"Naw, it's ok, FP. He was just worried, is all. Your first night sleeping somewhere besides home, and without your powers?"

"Exactly. Clever lad. I had to make sure he would not harm you in any way. My second request, Finn, is...something private that we should discuss over there." He pointed off to the left, and walked about ten yards in that direction, and stared at Finn, waiting. Finn shrugged, and followed him.

"WHAT?" He shouted, after a few moments.

"Keep your voice down!" The Flame King continued explaining his request to Finn, finally both returning to the front door of the tree house, looking very uncomfortable, Finn's face practically luminescent in its redness.

"Your dad has some jacked up ideas about how I treat ladies." Flame Princess stood in silence, bewildered.

"Finn, I swear, I meant when such things come up. Every princess I talked to said you are a paragon of virtue. But some day, when you're older..." Finn covered his ears, and began chanting.

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!"

"They _did_ also say you were quite immature..." Flame Princess hugged her father, who began lumbering off towards his kingdom. "Goodbye, my daughter. I love you. Please, visit home soon."

"I will, father." She turned to Finn, still bright red and chanting. She hugged him, and he jumped back a bit. She stared at him, a little offended. "What did you guys talk about?" Finn looked around awkwardly.

"Well, um...Y'know the thing you said last night that you were worried about? Why I was on the floor?"

"Say no more. Please." She glared after her father's disappearing form on the horizon. "So...What shall we do today?"

"Well, we should probably go see if Jake needs help cleaning up." He rushed back into the tree fort and up the ladders. When they reached the kitchen, Lady and Jake had already finished replacing the dishes, and swept up the shards of the glass Flame Princess had dropped. Finn stood for a moment, silent and awkward, as his brain parsed this information.

"Huh. Um, you wanna visit another kingdom? That could be a fun way to spend the day." Finn asked, holding the phone.

"That sounds splendid...it would provide ample opportunity to learn more about Ooo..."

"Well, Candy Kingdom's close, and you already know their princess, so I'll give her a call and see if she wants to lead the tour." He dialed her number, and waited while it rang.

"Hello! Yeah, good morning to you too! Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to lead us in a tour of the Candy Kingdom? Yeah, with the Flame Princess. What? But why not?" Finn frowned, feeling a bit confused. "Uh huh. Uh huh. I guess that makes sense...I don't get why it would come up, but if you really think so...yeah. Ok. Another time, then, PB." He hung up the phone and frowned at Flame Princess.

"Is something wrong?" She tried to hide the tiny bit of joy in her voice.

"She said she didn't think it was a good idea, when we only just got together and you know I usedta have a crush on her. She says she wants to give us room to grow closer, and doesn't want to butt in."

"I...I admit, I was a little anxious about spending time with her, for similar reasons..." She scratched the back of her hand nervously, shrinking back a bit.

"Well, you shoulda told me...I don't want you to feel nervous or like I like someone else more than you..." Finn put a hand on her shoulder, frowning. Rainicorn slithered up to them, encircling the young couple.

"어리석은 정말이지, 모든 사람들에게 그들의 감정을 숨기는 가끔 그들이 그렇게 할 때 특히 기분을 상하게 하고 싶지는 않았는데 누군가가." She told him, leaving him confused.

"Jake? Translation?" Finn requested, not breaking eye contact with Lady, in an attempt to get it across that he still couldn't understand her.

"You can't expect everybody to wear their hearts on their sleeves, dude." He trotted up next to his brother, smiling up at him. "If Lady wanted me to hang out with her and someone else, and it would make me jealous, I wouldn't say a thing. I'd try to make it through so she could enjoy time with her other friend and me at the same time."

"때가 되면, 질투가 '티퍼니'을 찾습니다." Lady stared at Jake, who blushed and sputtered.

"Hey, I thought we weren't gonna talk about that!" Lady giggled, rubbing his forehead and moving him away from the younger pair. "We should go see Hotdog Princess. That's a kingdom right here in the Grasslands, and it's a small one so we won't need a tour."

"Hey, yeah!"

Lady looked out the window, her eyes wide with realization. "나는 가서 홈. 당신을 사랑하는 제이크."

"I love you too, Lady." Jake gave her a quick kiss, and she flew out the window. "Alright, you two, hop on." He stretched his upper body out the window, expanding the front half, and turning his back half into a slide. Finn grabbed the Flame Princess's hand, and leaped onto the slide, riding down onto Jake's back and tumbling forward, laughing, the Flame Princess following in kind. Jake took off running, Finn gripping his hair, and the Flame Princess hugging Finn about the waist to keep herself balanced. She grimaced, trying to nuzzle up against his back, but his pack was in the way. Still, she found herself exhilarated by the speed the magic dog was moving, the wind rushing past her face, and the presence of the boy she loved. All at once, however, it came to a stop as they reached a small fence attached to a dog house.

"Here we are!" Finn said, wrapping an arm around Flame Princess and sliding down Jake's leg, not seeing the blush on her face as she nestled in against him on the way down.

"This...this is a kingdom?" She asked, finally noticing just how small an area it was.

"Shh!" Jake shushed, eyes wide. "Don't say anything about it being small! Hotdog Princess gets upset when people say stuff like that." They walked up to the edge of the fence, and hopped over it. Even then, the hot dog knights posted at the borders of the kingdom did not notice them. Finn approached the small dog house and knocked on it gently.

"Hotdog Princess, you home? I want you to meet someone!" He called to her, as the hotdog knights began to give panicked shouts, demanding he halt and asking his identity. The princess exited her palace, such as it was, and smiled when she saw her guests.

"Hi Finn, hi Jake!" She turned her attention to the Flame Princess. "Who's your friend?"

"This is the Flame Princess. She's taking a leave from her kingdom to learn more about the rest of Ooo. Finn's sweet on her." Finn punched Jake in the shoulder for his candid response.

"Boys, turn away. Flame Princess, come closer." Everyone shrugged, but complied anyway. "If you are truly a princess, then you will know the secret princess handshake." Flame Princess began to panic. She had never even heard of a secret princess handshake! "Don't worry!" Hotdog Princess whispered. "We're just playing with them! Now make exploding noises"

"um...BOOM! POW!" She shouted, trying her best to sound as if the words from her mouth were genuine explosions.

"KABLOOEY! BLAZOW! Yep, you're a princess alright. You can put your clothes back on now." The boys froze up, and Finn, confused, tried to turn his head for a peek, only to find the princesses making faces at him. Laughing, he stuck his tongue out at them. "So, what brings you out this way?"

"Well, this was the closest kingdom. Not sure where to go after this." Finn turned to Jake. "Maybe the Turtle Princess's library?"

"Oh, you can't go there! It's a special time of year for the Turtle kingdom. The whole library is being reorganized because of all the books that got taken off the shelves and put back in the wrong places throughout the year."

"Oh, right..." Finn scratched his chin, thinking.

"I got it!" Jake shouted, standing over a small, crude map he drew in the dirt. "We'll hit the Marauder Village, then head by Treetrunks' house for some apple pie for lunch!"

"Sound good, Princess?" Finn asked Flame Princess, smiling at her. She blushed, uncertain what to make of anything they just said.

"I suppose..." Finn took her hand and helped her over the Fence of the Hotdog Kingdom. They all shouted their farewells to the Hotdog Princess, and ran towards the mountain range. Nearly half an hour of running, climbing, some walking, and a lot of smiling, they made their way up to the Marauder Village. Finn pulled back the curtain of pelts that act as the village gate, and motioned the Flame Princess inside, then instantly found himself forced to dive forward, tackling a Marauder to the ground, stopping him from charging the princess.

"Finn!" she shouted, and began trying to muster up her flames.

"Wait, princess." Jake put a hand on her shoulder, and warped his body into a small fort with a peep hole to keep Marauders off of her. "The Marauders love to roughhouse. They don't wanna hurt Finn, they're just having fun. FINN!" Jake shouted, catching the boy's attention. "I think we should lay down some rules with the Marauders." Finn paused, releasing the Marauder he was currently roughhousing with from a headlock. He approached the center of the village, Jake lifting the princess and carrying her in his fort body to follow him.

"Attention Marauders! How y'all doin? I'm showing a princess around Ooo, and we came by your village today. Someone tried to tackle her. Now, I know Muscle Princess comes by sometimes, but not everyone wants to roughhouse all the time. Muscle Princess is actually the only one I know who does." The Marauders had all gathered around as he spoke, each taking a knee. "Jake, let her out." The dogfort opened, and the princess walked over to Finn, placing one hand on his shoulder, the other on his elbow, hiding behind him a bit. "Princess, do you want to roughhouse with these Marauders?"

"N-no..." She shrank back a bit, shifting more of herself behind him.

"There ya go! So if you see someone new in town, I would respectfully request, as your Honorary Brother, that you ask first before attempting to roughhouse with them." The crowd began nodding and then devolved into a massive orgy of controlled violence.

"Wait, wait, waitwaitwait. You're an honorary brother of the marauders?" Jake asked skeptically.

"Yeah, man. Remember the twenty foot chicken?"

"Ooooh, right. And the mega pumpkin."

"Exactly."

"Um, Finn?" Flame Princess interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a really long story that involves mayonaise, pumpkins, and giant bird monsters. If we're gonna make it to Treetrunks' for lunch time, we're gonna have to skip it." Jake told her, shifting to gigantic proportions, forming his ear into a staircase to the ground. Finn smiled at the princess.

"Yeah, I'll have to tell you some other time. Sorry. It's a good story though." He sat on Jake's back, Flame Princess joining him, and huddling up against him for security.

"Something tells me you've got a lot of good stories..." She said, smiling at him. Soon, they reached the outskirts of the Candy Kingdom, and dismounted the dog at Treetrunks' cottage, the scent of apple pies filling the air. The trio peeked their heads in the window, smiling, taking in the intoxicating aroma.

"Hi Treetrunks!" Finn shouted jovially. "Making more apple pies?" Treetrunks moved into view, smiling, holding a pie in her trunk.

"Why, of course, dear. But this batch isn't cool enough to eat yet...you'll burn your little mouths. Why don't you run along and play while they all cool down?" She gasped in surprise as Flame Princess grabbed one of the pies from the window sill, and began eating it as gracefully as she could manage without utensils. "Oh, sweety, please, stop! You're going to get burned!" Finn patted Treetrunks on the head through the window.

"It's ok. She's the princess of the fire kingdom. I don't think ANYTHING can burn her. But FP, please don't do stuff like that around Treetrunks." Flame Princess looked around, realizing only now that she had rudely taken the pie without asking, and ignored Treetrunks' request.

"I, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, I just...it smelled soooo good, and it tastes even better!" Treetrunks smiled, and went to open the door to let them inside.

"That's not what I meant..." Finn whispered, "Treetrunks has a weak heart. Please try not to startle or surprise her..."

"Well, come on in... you can wait in here for the pies to cool down..." She sauntered back into the kitchen, leaving the front door open for her guests. "Would anyone like some hot cocoa?" All three of them told her they would, as they sat in the living room.

"Mmm...Applepie is good..." Flame Princess daintily mashed another handful down her mouth hole.

"That's apple pie, not applepie. It's pie made of apples. There's tons of kinds of pie though." Her eyes went wide with shock at Jake's words, and Finn found himself silently staring at her, smiling softly. Any time he just sat and looked at her like this, he felt a sort of giddiness well up inside him.

"There's more kinds? I want to try them all!" Her eagerness resounded with something inside Finn. More than her eagerness, something he knew was in her heart from the moment he first met her. It was then that he realized he could rub Jake's nose in it.

"See, dude? I told you she was passionate." He told his dog, grinning widely.

"Passion for pie is all well and good, but only when you can compress your gut. Otherwise she might get fat, Finn." At those words, Flame Princess put down the remaining quarter pie.

"Princess? Why'd you stop eating?"

"I...I don't want to get fat..." She frowned, blushing hard, turning away from her two new friends.

"Oh, don't worry. One pie isn't gonna make you fat. A whole bunch will, if you eat them all the time without any other kinds of stuff, but not just one pie. Heh, Jake, can you imagine how fat I'd be if one pie made people fat? I'd be like, bluuuuuurgh!" Finn joked, doing some kind of strange obesity pantomime, pausing when he saw that she still hadn't resumed eating. "Well? Aren't you gonna eat more?"

She grimaced and looked away, hiding her face. She mumbled her embarrassment away from them, but Finn took her shyness as sadness, and moved to her side, grabbing her hand. "I couldn't hear you...please, tell me what's wrong..."

"I ate too fast and my tummy hurts." She stated bluntly, refusing to look him in the eye. Treetrunks brought out a tray with their hot cocoa on it just as an egg timer went off, signifying that the pies had cooled sufficiently. Finn and Jake practically poured both their cocoa and their pies down their throats, while Flame Princess took her time, taking gentle sips at the cocoa, in the end leaving it only half full when Treetrunks gave them a final pie for another friend and saw them out.

"Urgh...Finn, I don't feel so good..." She frowned, walking leaning on him.

"We just have one more person to introduce you to, and then we'll head home. She lives here with Treetrunks, protecting her apple trees from birds. This way." He lead her over to Raggedy Princess, who sat vigilantly on a fence post. "Hey, Raggedy Princess."

She turned to face him, and blushed, giggling. "Oh, hi Finn!"

"I'd like you to meet the Flame Princess. We're gonna be showing her all around Ooo for a while, so we brought her by for some pie on her first day out meeting new people. Oh, and Treetrunks had us bring your payment for today." He placed the pie on the fence, and Raggedy Princess leaned down to stick her face in it.

"Thanks, Finn..." She said, blushing harder.

"She's shy," He explained to the Flame Princess.

"Oh, well...it's nice to meet you...Sorry I don't seem very happy to meet you, I ate my pie too fast..." She said, not wanting to appear rude.

"I, um, I hope you feel better...bye..." Raggedy Princess called to her quietly as they mounted Jake and made for the tree fort. When they arrived, they found several candy people in the yard, walking away from their home.

"Hey, what's going on? What are all you candy people doing here while we're out?" Jake asked, letting Finn and Flame Princess down.

"Oh, Princess Bubblegum sent us here with a bed. We had to take it apart to get it in, but don't worry, we put it back together in the bedroom, next to the other bed. We only had two extra pieces when we were done. A new record!" The candy crew cheered as they ran back to the candy kingdom.

"A free bed? Score, I can finally move out of my drawer!" Jake pumped his fist in the air, but his exuberance quickly died when he realized the true purpose of the new furnishing. "It's Flame Princess's bed, isn't it."

"Probably," Finn responded, then headed inside and went up the ladder. "Jake, stretch up here, and give the princess a seat on your meat so she doesn't have to climb with a tummy ache."

"Already on it, brother!" Flame princess ascended to the top of the steps on a round disk of stretchy magic dog flesh and Jake proceeded to carry her up the next ladder into the bedroom as well, Finn ascending with them.

"Wow, nice bed." Finn commented, walking her over to it and laying her down upon the mattress, sitting down on his own bed.

"It is...I should really thank Bubblegum for this gift..." Before she even finished her sentence, Finn held his phone out to her, the call already ringing. She nervously held it to her ear, waiting for Bubblegum to pick up.

"Hello? Um, this is the Flame Princess...I wanted to thank you for the bed you sent for me...How did you know I was going to be staying here, though? Oh, I see, well, tell Lady I said thanks, as well...You don't need to cover it up, I already know why you wouldn't come give me a tour...No, Finn told me. And...I appreciate your allowing us space...No, not jealous...more worried...Thank you, again, for all you've done...URP...oh...sorry, I ate an applepie too fast...Yes, Treetrunks...ok. You as well. Goodbye, Princess Bubblegum." She handed the phone back to Finn after hanging it up. "Urgh..." she lay flat on her bed, rubbing her tummy.

"You need anything? I've got some cyclops teardrops that work for injury and sickness, I don't know if they'd fix a tummy ache, but I can spare a few if you want to try..." The hero leaned over her bed, as his dog exited the room to give them some space. He frowned with concern, brushing some of her burning locks out of her face.

"Thank you Finn, but I've been told how hard it is to gather cyclops tears...I'll be fine soon enough...it...might make me feel better if you'd..." she trailed off, mumbling.

"Didn't catch that, FP..."

"Sing me a song...like the one that...oh, I'm so smoking stupid...Jake wrote that one. You didn't even know about it." She buried her face in her hands. Jake, overhearing her with his dog ears, stretched his mouth into the room.

"Finn wrote that. I just changed the words so it was all about you. You know Finn, the one you had been singing the night you met her?" Finn blushed, and realized now wouldn't be the best time to bring that up. Still, she asked him to sing to her.

"Flame Princess,

Spent so long locked away,

how could I find you,

to find out that I felt this way?

I couldn't get in, didn't even know you were there,

never got to tell you how much I like your hair,

but now you're here with me

and there's so much to see

oh, me and you,

we'll explore Ooo,

and Jake can come too,

I want to be with you, I do,

Flame Princess,

You've lit my brain aflame,

I can't express just how much

joy I've felt since you came..."

He stopped when he saw the sparks forming in her eyes. "Are you ok?" he asked, placing a hand on her cheek.

"That was beautiful...How do you sing like that? It's amazing..."

"Oh, I swallowed a tiny computer once." He told her, disproportionately proud of the deed.

"You're a wonderful lyricist..." She told him, sighing. Finn froze, trying to think of what to do next. Things kept progressing smoothly and slowly, but every so often they stopped, and he found himself at a loss for how to get things moving again.

"So, um...wanna see my sword?" He asked, smiling awkwardly. She stared blankly at him, and pulled her blanket over her head.

"That's gross, Finn."

"What, cuz it's made of demon blood? It's an awesome sword...It was my dad's!" He boasted, retrieving the sword for her to see. She cautiously peeked out from under the covers to ensure he was referring to an actual weapon, then slowly emerged.

"Wow...it's...It's quite large...How do you handle a weapon so big?" An eyeball found its way up to the bedroom, Jake also wanting to ensure it was in fact the family sword they were discussing.

"It's not like it's heavy. Demon blood makes light weapons. But the grip's longer than a lot of swords, see? So it's easy to use it with both hands instead of just one. Would you like to hold it?" He held it out to her, and she tenderly took the sword from him, checking its weight for herself.

"It feels...powerful...but light..." She noted, sensing the magic within the blade as she handed it back to him. He placed it in the shark jaws over his headboard, and sat on his bed, grinning at the princess, perhaps a bit too widely.

"So, what do you want to do now?"

"I, um...I want to get some sleep, try and nap through this tummy ache...but..."

"Do you want me to stick around?" He asked. She smiled softly and nodded, then frowned.

"I do, but...I don't want you to feel like you have to..." Finn grabbed the Enchiridion from the floor at the foot of his bed, and laid down and began reading. Flame Princess patted him on the shoulder, and motioned for him to come closer. As he complied, she gently kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Finn..." She closed her eyes, and sighed, snuggling up in her bed, closing her eyes, but she found that she could not fall asleep. It was just too quiet. "Finn? Are you still here?"

"Yup, what's up?

"Just...Just making sure..." She frowned to herself, and tried to fall asleep once more.

"Hmm..." He could tell she wanted some way to know he was there. She kept peeking, then sighing with relief when she saw him. "Hmm!" it hit him. "Hmm hmm hmmmm, hm hm hm hmmm..." he hummed a soft, sweet tune to lull her to sleep, smiling as her silhouette glowed through the blanket.


	2. Chapter 2

Notes: The movies are, in order, the fictional Heat Signature, Mamma Mia!, You've got Mail, the original Star Wars trilogy, Duck Soup, The Ring, and Fifth Element. I have not seen heat signature or the ring, but I love all the rest. Also Lane Warrior is Street Fighter. Last note, I know cobblers dealt in shoe repair, not shoe creation. But I like that pun, and I'm the one writing this, so poo on you. And I decided the movie Jake would choose for the comedy genre not only based on my own love of the Marx brothers, but on the fact that he's got to know who they are. He pretended to be Groucho for glob's sake.

"Come on, man, you gotta do it! It's like, the perfect thing!" Jake nagged, tugging on the ears of Finn's hat. "I'm telling you, bro, it works! Now go get it started!" Finn tussled with his dog, wrestling around on his bed.

"Seriously, Jake, I can't. She gets nervous when she thinks nobody's around." Jake wrapped his arms around Finn's mouth, shushing him, as the Flame Princess began to stir.

"Finn...Jake...What are you guys doing?" She asked, rubbing the ashy sleep from her eyes. Jake retracted his limbs, and sat on the human boy's bed, next to him.

"Well, uh..." Finn blushed, trying to figure out where to start explaining.

"I was telling Finn that if you guys are boyfriend and girlfriend, he should make you a nice spaghetti dinner!" Jake told her. "The two of you eating spaghetti, under the moonlight, and I'd even play my viola for you. I'm tryin' to help my brother out, 'cause I love him. I know it'll go great. Now, Finn? GO GET COOKING!" He struggled with the human boy, pushing him towards the ladder to the living room.

"Fine, fine, I'm going!" Finn grunted, "Sheesh. Oh! Wait, FP, is your tummy feeling better?" He asked, already halfway down the ladder.

"Y-yes..." She blushed, still a little embarrassed that she had gorged herself. She was a princess, and was brought up to be lady-like. How she acted around the pie was the opposite of that. Fortunately, her hero didn't seem to think less of her for it.

"OK, good. Spaghetti dinner's no good if your stomach hurts too much to eat any of it!" Finn kicked off the ladder, doing a wicked back-flip, and landing on his feet in the living room, then walked over to the kitchen, whistling.

"So, uh, Flame Princess..." Jake began, feeling very nervous, and twiddling his thumbs. It had taken him a few minutes of the dog and princess staring at each other in awkward silence to work up the courage to even get this far. "I just...um...I wanted to apologize." She looked at the dog, wondering what he could have been talking about.

"It's alright, I was about to wake up anyway..."

"No, no, not that...Finn asked me about when I met you, while you were sleeping. He pointed out it wasn't cool of me to lie about Finn wanting to be with you. I try to be a righteous dude, like my bro, but I'm not as good at it as he is. He reminded me, righteous dudes should avoid messing with a lady's heart whenever they can, and apologize to the ladies if they can't help it, or they slip up and do it anyway." Over the course of his apology, he went from sitting up, to hunching forward, to walking around on all fours on the bed, to finally curling up, stretching his tail so he could express his regret by pulling it between his legs.

Flame Princess considered this for a while, thinking about what he did, and how it must have come about. Finally, she reached toward Jake, who flinched until he felt her gently petting his head. "Apology accepted. It all worked out alright...I mean, if not for you, I wouldn't have met him...I wouldn't have gotten this..." She examined the ring glowing on her finger, "And...Jake, we both care about him a lot. He's a very special person, and I can understand that wanting to cheer him up might mess with how you make your decisions." Jake smiled.

"Yeah...He's a great kid, alright. Clever, too. Not always bright, but he gets some pretty great ideas. Like, this one time, I was stretched so thin that...Nah, I'll tell you another time." He said, turning towards the ladder downstairs.

"Why not now?" She asked, wanting to hear of some of Finn's exploits.

"Dog noses are great at smelling. The Spaghetti's almost done." Without a word, he spread himself flat, and acted as a spatula, lifting Flame Princess off of her bed, and stretching himself down stairs. "Finn, everything set up outside?" He asked, pausing in the living room. Finn nodded from the boiling pot of noodles, a jar of sauce on the counter. Jake continued his way down, and set the Flame Princess at a table out on the lawn, under the stars and moon, a candle set on the tablecloth, with two plates, two forks, two glasses of water, and a viola. Once he returned to his normal shape, Jake picked up his Viola and began to tune it. Finn soon walked out of the tree fort, setting a platter of spaghetti with meat sauce on the table, blushing.

"I hope you like it... Jake's the cook here, I'm not that good at it." Jake rolled his eyes as Finn spoke bashfully.

"Finn, it's really hard to mess up spaghetti. Now quit worryin' and serve that lady some pasta!" He then began to drag his bow over the viola strings, producing a beautiful melody. Finn nodded, and scooped a lump of saucy noodles onto the princess's plate, then taking a plateful for himself. They sat in awkward silence, neither really knowing what to do but quietly slurp their noodles. Jake stopped playing, and walked over to Finn, pulling him away from the table, and whispering to him.

"Dude, you gotta get your head in the game! Look at her. Tell me what you see."

"I see...I see a beautiful girl, staring at us. Probably 'cause we're acting like weirdos." Jake slapped himself in the forehead.

"Tell me about what makes her beautiful." He demanded, putting an arm around the human boy.

"W-well, the way she glows, um, her pretty eyes...how her hair moves around like it's a fire..." Jake nodded, smiling.

"Good. Now, I'm gonna go play my viola some more, and you tell her all that." Finn blushed, nodding, making his way back to the table.

"You're beautiful." he blurted, blushing at the princess. She blushed as well, smiling at him.

"Um...Thank you, very much..." Finn smiled back, relaxing a bit.

"I really like how you glow. It's so pretty...and the way it brightens up a night..." He took a bite of his spaghetti, slurping a noodle into his mouth, a bit of sauce flying from the flailing pasta and landing on the princess's face. "SORRY!" he exclaimed, his nerves surging back to full strength, until she smiled at him, wiping it off with her finger and flicking it at him, giggling. "And...I like how your hair moves around, even now that it just hangs down instead of sticking up...it's...really pretty, too..." She stared at him for a moment, and put her fork down.

"You...You have hair, too, right? I think I saw it, back when you came to talk to me in the throne room..."

"Yeah...Um...why'd you stop eating?" He asked, worrying that he had managed to accomplish the difficult task of screwing up spaghetti.

"Because you stopped eating...Finn, I don't...I don't want to be rude, and I really hope I'm not breaking some sort of rule for humans, but can I see your hair?" Finn smiled, removing his Awesome Hat, and running his fingers through his hair. Her eyes went wide, staring at him. He blushed, feeling her eyes on him.

"It's...it's so beautiful..." Without knowing she was even doing it, she reached across the table, gently caressing his golden locks. When she did realize just what she was doing, she jerked her hand back. "Sorry..."

"It's OK...You mind if I put my hat back on? I feel kinda weird without it..." She nodded, blushing, and once his hat was pulled over his hair once more, they both resumed eating.

"This is...really nice..." She commented, smiling at him. "I feel a little nervous...but...I really like this."

"Me too..." Finn replied, smiling back.

"Wait...You're nervous? But, why?"

"Well, um, this is kind of a fancy dinner thing, and I don't know much about fancy dinners...I keep thinking I'm gonna do something stupid and mess everything up...I just don't know what to talk about..."

"At least you have things to talk about...Stories to tell..." She frowned, idly twirling her noodles with her fork. "I feel like I have nothing to add here...any story I try to tell will be about being locked in a lamp..." Finn frowned. Something about her having put herself through all that just made his heart ache.

"Don't worry, FP." He got up from the table, having already eaten all of his spaghetti, and moved across to her, giving her a gentle hug. "You're free now, and it's only a matter of time before you have plenty of stories to tell." He pulled back, hands on her shoulders, smiling down at her.

"But...they'll all be ones you were there for..." She blushed up at him, her frown fading away.

"Hey, a good story is a good story, even if it starts with 'remember that time.'" She smiled softly, pulling him in closer to give him a hug of her own.

"I love you, Finn." She whispered in his ear. She could feel him blushing, his cheek heating up while pressed against hers. He was confident in his feelings now, but still felt strange vocalizing them.

"I...I love you too, Edana." Strings screeched, and both looked up, horrified to realize what Jake just heard.

"Finn, what are you doing!" He demanded, running right up to them.

"It...it's alright, Jake. I gave him permission, but it was supposed to be in private only..."

"I, uh, I kinda got so focused on her that I forgot we weren't alone out here..." Finn blushed.

"Please, don't tell anyone...if my father found out I already let him call me by name, he would get so angry..." She found herself getting on her knees, to grovel at the dog's feet.

Jake stared at her, expressionless. He then looked to Finn, a sense of desperation on his bro's face. Lastly, he looked to the table as he heard his stomach demand food. "You gonna finish your spaghetti, Flame Princess?" He asked.

"Jake, focus. Please, promise me you won't tell a soul that Finn is already allowed to use my true name..."

"Yeah, if you give me your spaghetti." He smiled at them, as Flame Princess gave him her plate.

"I guess I can call you by name around Jake now, if nobody else finds out, right?" Finn asked.

"I suppose there's no harm in it..." She petted the dog as he licked the sauce off the plate.

"I'll pick up all this stuff. You guys can go play Beemo or something." Jake told them, smiling, sauce stuck in the fur of his jowl.

"You got a little somethin' there." Finn told him, causing the dog to begin licking furiously at his own face. He smiled as the princess giggled. They made their way into the living room, Finn sitting on the couch, patting the seat next to him. She sat down, and, blushing heavily, leaned against him. He smiled bashfully at her.

"You wanna play a video game? Or maybe watch a movie?" She blinked at these suggestions, and looked up at him.

"I, um...I don't know what those are...either of them..."

"Oh, uh...Beemo!" Finn called out. The computer came forward and smiled.

"Yes, Finn, how can I help you?"

"Hop on up on the table, buddy, and put on Bug Battle." Finn instructed, taking the controller from Beemo, and handing it to the princess.

"Now, there's going to be a little guy with a bow and arrow on the screen. That's you. You control him. Move the stick where you want him to go, and push the button to shoot arrows." He smiled, gently coaching her and going over the controls as she played. It wasn't long, unfortunately, before she saw the game over screen. "You got pretty far for a first timer! Jake still has trouble making it to level three, and you got all the way to five!"

"That's 'cause level two has too many spiders!" Jake shouted from the kitchen, as he finished up the dishes. Flame Princess smiled, blushing, soaking in the human boy's praise.

"I had fun...So this is a movie?" Finn shook his head.

"No, that's a video game. Movies are just stories you can watch. Like...like a play. On Beemo's face. From before the Mushroom War." He explained.

"Oh! Can we watch one?" She smiled, eager for another new experience.

"Got a bunch right here." Jake said, holding a stack of tapes. "Some of the best ones we got. Heat Signature, Mother Mia, You Have a Letter, Space Battles four through six...Duck Stew, The Circle...and Fifth Property. Trying to cover a bunch of kinds of movie, so..."

"Then why did you bring two of your romantic comedies?" Finn asked, staring at him. "Anyway, princess, what do you want to see? Action? Adventure? Funny stuff? Scary stuff? Romantic stuff?" She thought for a moment, then made her decision.

"I haven't had enough reasons to laugh these past few years...Put on the funny one, please."

"Duck Stew it is." Jake replied, and after putting the tape in Beemo, he sat on the floor by the couch, letting the kids cuddle in close. "If you like silly stuff, you'll love these guys."

"It...It's colored weird..." She observed as the movie began.

"Yeah, the really old ones are only black and white for some reason." Finn told her. He yawned, and stretched his arm around her. Her hair began to dance about violently as she blushed bright red, scooting in even closer to him. She found herself laughing more over the next sixty eight minutes than she had ever laughed in the entirety of her life up to that point.

"Oh my...that was hilarious!" She said, giggling.

"Yeah, those guys are great. They're actually in some other movies, and they usually act the same way."

"Can we watch more?" Flame Princess asked, smiling.

"I dunno, FP, it's probably time for us to get to bed" Jake told her, frowning. "I'm glad you liked the movie, though." Jake scratched himself, and, yawning, climbed up to the bedroom.

"Don't listen to him." Finn told her, smiling. "He's just lazy. Beemo, turn on Lane Warrior." Finn grabbed the controllers, handing one to the princess. "This one's for two players, but we'll be playing to beat each other. If you want, I can go easy on you, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try to win." She stared at him for a moment, then snatched the controller he was offering her, the ends of her hair beginning to curl upward. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the screen, selecting her warrior.

"Bring it on!" She whispered intensely, sending nervous shivers up Finn's spine. The fight commenced, and she lost without landing a single hit on him. Round two was much the same, but she had learned a new trick: how to block. For three hours, they played, and by the last hour, she was already on equal footing with the human boy.

"Man, what? You're a really fast learner...I've been playing this for like two months! That's it, I'm pulling out all the stops." Finn executed a deadly special move, but she did something he didn't even know would work. She blocked the whole time, and when the clock ran down, she had more life left, granting her victory.

"Wow... you can block those moves...?" He said, yawning a bit as he spoke.

"You want to turn it off for the night?" She asked, feeling mentally exhausted. Finn nodded, and instructed Beemo to enter sleep mode. He headed to the bathroom, changing into his pajamas, and when he got to bed, Flame Princess was already laying in her own.

"...Finn?" She asked, quietly.

"Yeah, Edana?" He turned onto his side, looking at her.

"I think I need new clothes...I used to just change them with my power, but that generates a lot of heat, and without the lamp to keep my power locked in, I'm worried about what it might do...Plus, I don't even know if I can muster it up with this ring...I'm sorry to ask this, but would you help me get new clothes?"

"Sure! There's a tailor's that specializes in cloth clothes instead of candy ones in the candy kingdom that I go to for all my clothes."

"Thanks...sorry for the bother..." She blushed, smiling to herself. "um...Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"How'd you do that huge fireball in the game?" They chatted a bit in the darkness, until they drifted off to sleep. In the night, Finn dreamed of a formless creature speaking to him.

"You are not done yet, boy. You have defeated the demon lord, a rage born of hatred for oneself...You've warped through a few worlds, showing her some of what is around you...But you have no key, and the wizard steps are still a long way off...Have courage, boy. Courage and tenacity will see you through."

He awoke in the morning, feeling somewhat disoriented. "I thought the ring was the key..." He said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"What'd you say, Finn?" Flame Princess asked, confused, as she sat in her bed, rubbing Jake's tummy. The stretchy dog's leg kicked, and continuously grew longer and longer, a large spool of dogleg sitting on the ground.

Finn paused, and looked at his surroundings. Realizing everything was normal and nothing was spooky voices, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Nothing, I just...I had a weird dream...I'll be right back." He walked into the bathroom, and soon came out in his regular outfit. The trio went downstairs for a quick breakfast, then headed off for the Candy Kingdom. As they walked, the Flame Princess found herself feeling torn. She had no idea whether or not she and the boys would be spending time with Princess Bubblegum, and while she did want to see her again, to express gratitude for the bed, not to mention her work on the ring, in person, as well as get to know one of Finn's best friends, she was worried.

It was widely known that Bonnibel Bubblegum was one of the smartest and most beautiful girls in all of Ooo, and she'd already won Finn's heart once. If she opened her eyes, if she saw what the Flame Princess saw in Finn, what chance would Edana have of keeping him? Still, he truly loved her. That much she knew. She decided to swallow her anxieties and trust that this love would not be so easily broken. She still didn't want to force the issue of hanging out with her, though. What if Bubblegum already _did_ know how wonderful Finn was, but for some reason felt she couldn't be with him? Seeing him with Edana could be heartbreaking. She didn't have all the facts, and she wasn't about to risk the feelings of a near-stranger who had done so much for her, so selflessly.

She found herself stirred from her thoughts as Finn's hand gripped hers. She looked up at him, blushing, but saw worry in his eyes. "You OK, Edana? You look kinda...y'know...tense." She laughed nervously, forcing a casual smile.

"I was just worrying about how I'm gonna pay for this shopping trip..." And then it hit her. She had no money. She couldn't afford a bed, either, and that was supplied for her...Was Finn going to ask Bonnibel for more help?

"Me and Jake got you covered. Everything we earned since kids, we put a little aside. It was Jake's idea. We used to think girls were gross, but he knew some day we wouldn't. So we started our 'babe fund.' For when we had to pay for gifts and food for babes. Once we started getting treasure, though...it's kinda overflowing."

"It's not my fault, man! I explained it to Lady, but she still said she'd just feel guilty accepting so much from me. Now we've got you to put some of it on too, so that'll help." Jake said, holding up a bejeweled golden scepter. "I know just the guys to sell this to, and then we can go shopping with full wallets."

"I've never actually cashed anything in from the babes fund. I was kind of worried Jake wouldn't let me." Finn explained.

"Dude, the rest of it is our treasure. The babes fund is for the ladies." Flame Princess frowned, squirming uncomfortably, squeezing Finn's hand.

"Could you maybe come up with something else to call it? Hearing you guys say 'babes fund' over and over makes me a little uncomfortable..."

"Oh, right, sorry! Um, we'll stop talking about it now...until we come up with something else to call it." They walked over the moat and through the gate into the kingdom, various candy people greeting Finn and Jake wherever they went. They found themselves at a pawn shop Jake led them to.

"You guys wait out here." Jake instructed, sauntering inside confidently.

"Jake's an expert haggler, but he never lets me watch. Says it blows his focus." Finn explained, leaning against the building, Edana soon following suit. After a moment, Jake walked out of the store, a large, grotesque lump on his hip, a pouch of magic dog skin stuffed with crisp bills.

"OK, where are we going first?" He asked as they stepped away from the wall.

"I really need something else to wear...this dress is getting all frayed and stained from dragging on the ground everywhere I go..." She frowned, lifting it up. "I think...I think I need some practical clothes..."

"Alright, we'll hit up Chet's place." Finn told her, leading to the tailor's store. As they entered, a tiny bell rang at the top of the door.

"I'll be right with you!" The owner shouted from the back. In a moment, he emerged. "Ah, Finn! Need some more replacement shorts and t-shirts?" He asked.

"Nah, actually Flame Princess here needs some new clothes. Oh, sorry, Chet, this is the Flame Princess. Flame Princess, this is Chet the Chocolate Chip." Chet took her hand, and bowed, kissing it.

"Always an honor to do work for royalty! Come on in the back, and I'll take your measurements. You boys wait here." They walked away, and Finn and Jake sat down in a small waiting area. After a while, and a shout of "Hey, watch it!", an apology of "I swear it was an accident!" and a statement of how easily chocolate melts, they came back. Finn frowned when he saw his princess glowering at the tailor.

"Everything OK, Princess?" He asked.

"He needs to watch his hands when measuring an inseam." Her anger manifested in an unnatural heat radiating from her.

"I swear to Grod, it was an honest mistake! If you'd let me measure you in your underwear, like most customers do, I would've been able to see where to stop."

"...Speaking of, I'm gonna need you to make me some underwear, too." She told him. At hearing this, Finn stumbled a bit from the disorienting sensation of his blood rushing to his cheeks. "N-No, Finn, it's not what you think!" she insisted, realizing what he must be imagining. She felt embarrassed explaining something she thought they all would have figured out on their own. "I've...been stuck in the same underwear for...let's see...today, yesterday, the day before that...four days total...ever since Jake came to the flame kingdom...there was so much going on, I...I Totally forgot..." she hid her face in her hands. "I'm so embarrassed. You must all think I'm totally disgusting..."

"I don't think Jake's got any room to talk, he still likes to sniff poop." Finn pointed out.

"And I, milady, would never be so presumptuous as to cast judgment on royalty." Chet told her.

"I keep telling you, Finn, there's a lot of great smells in poop! Try it!"

"And I could never think you're disgusting." Finn clasped her hand between both of his, smiling at her, hoping what he said hadn't come out awkwardly.

"Thank you, Finn..." She blushed at him, and moved to one of the chairs. "So, I need plenty of clothes...But for now, could you just make me a fresh outfit to change into?" She asked Chet. "Something practical...and could you maybe fix up this dress, too, once I'm changed?"

"Hmm...Practical day wear..." Chet walked outside, closed the door, and came back inside a moment later, seeing what the weather would merit wearing. "Alright, I know just what to make you, and I'll have it ready in just a moment." He ran into his work room as the three of them sat in the waiting area. After a moment of awkward silence, Finn noticed Jake making sniffing noises, a thin black line trailing from his nose, along the floor, and slowly moving towards the princess.

"Jake..." He warned, the dog retracting his stretched parts the moment he knew he was caught.

"Why, Finn, whatever could be the problem?" He asked, failing miserably at sounding innocent. Finn gave him an incredulous stare. "I was curious...I'm sorry..." Flame Princess stared at them both, confused.

"What happened?" She asked, wanting to be let in on it.

"It's...probably best for everyone if you don't know..." Finn told her, frowning apologetically. Curiosity was gnawing at her, but she smiled at him and decided to accept that he didn't want to tell her.

"Alright, Finn. I trust you." She leaned over towards him and gave him a peck on the cheek. It wasn't long before Chet returned, handing her some clothes and pointing her towards the changing room.

She examined herself in the mirror, blushing heavily. "Isn't this a bit...revealing?" She asked through the door.

"Trust me, my dear. It may not be the height of fashion, but it will look wonderful on you." She walked out, and approached Finn and Jake, standing with a sense of unnatural rigidity.

"Um...Wh...What do you think?" She asked, blushing. She was wearing an orange tank top with about an inch and a half of midriff showing before her fairly tight denim shorts, which ended just above her knees.

"Uh...Where's your shoes?" Jake asked.

"Oh," She looked down at her feet, and wiggled her toes. "Um, I wasn't...I wasn't wearing them when you came to meet me, so I...I don't have any with me..." She turned to Chet, "Could you make me some?" She still looked rigid and uncomfortable with wearing something that didn't cover her legs in their entirety.

"Madam, I'm a tailor. Not a cobbler. I do know a cobbler who happens to be a cobbler. Perry Peach, three stores over. Just turn left out the door, and you'll be there in no time." He began to head back to his work room, but Finn stopped him.

"FP, are you really OK wearing that? I mean, I think you look amazing, but... You don't look too comfortable...Do you want him to make you something else to wear?" He asked, blocking Chet's path.

"No," She shook her head, "No, I think it's...good for me. I mean, I'm doing so much, taking in so many new experiences...I should try wearing things I'm not used to." She said, putting her hands together behind her back.

"Very good. Now, may I resume working on her wardrobe? She already told me what kind of outfits she wants, and it's a fairly large order."

"Not quite, Chet. We're taking this outfit now, so we gotta pay for it now, right?" Finn told him. Chet thanked him for being so honest, and Jake grumbled as he shelled out the dough. The three of them walked down the road to the Cobbler's, stepping inside to find the owner of the store sweeping up. He paused when they entered, and looked up at Flame Princess. He grabbed a stool, and sat down on it in front of a chair, grabbing a measuring tool, and putting on his glasses.

"Well?" He asked. "Aren't you going to sit down so I can get your shoe size?" She nodded, and sat in the chair.

"How did you know I was the customer?" She asked, curiously.

"The boy's wearing shoes already, and the dog doesn't seem to wear anything." He gathered information on her shoe size, and jotted it down in the notebook, ignoring Jake's insistence that he was wearing pixie-made spiderweb pants. "Alright, what are you looking for?" he asked, handing her a catalog. "Pick a style, and I'll put it together for you."

Taking the catalog from him, the Flame Princess flipped through the pages. Finally, she pointed to a plain looking pair of simple white flats. Without a word, he snatched the catalog from her, and went to a counter, gathering up materials and getting to work, picking the different parts from different drawers on a large cabinet next to the desk, each labeled by size and part type. In about twelve minutes of silent, intense focus, and skilled work, he gave the princess her new shoes. She slipped them on, and walked back and forth a bit.

"Wow...it feels like...it feels like...it feels really comfortable..." She told them. "I mean, that doesn't begin to cover it, but...wow...I don't think there are words for this..." She jogged in place a bit, smiling. "You are truly a master of your craft. Jake, if it would be alright, could we give him a gratuity?" She asked, clasping her hands pleadingly in front of her face, bending down towards him.

"Yeah, OK.." Grumbling, he paid for the shoes, giving the Cobbler a fairly large tip, and the trio once again headed out to the street.

"So, where to now?" Flame Princess asked, looking to each of the boys for an answer.

"Let's go see what PB is up to." Jake suggested.

"I dunno, man...that...um...might get awkward..." Finn told him, frowning. Jake snatched his hat, and emptied the remaining money into it, replacing it on his head.

"PB's my friend too, man. I get why you're stayin' away from each other for now, but I wanna see what kinda crazy science she's got cooked up." Flame Princess frowned as she saw that Jake was leaving.

"Jake, I don't want to cause trouble between you two...Finn, we can go and see the princess if you want..."

Jake patted Flame Princess on the head. "Relax, Princess. You're not making trouble. We spend plenty of time together as it is, right Finn?" He asked, holding up a fist.

"Yeah, 'cause we're bros!" Finn replied, giving him a bump.

"You're already pushing your comfort zone with those clothes. You don't have to push it further by hanging out with PB. One thing at a time, you know?"

"How...How did you know that I...um..."

"Dogs can smell fear." Jake replied with utmost frankness. "Anyway, this will give you two some alone time out on the town. Y'know, for a date." They both blushed as Jake headed towards the candy castle. "And don't forget to pick up her clothes before you head home!" He shouted, his head twisted backwards to face them. They stood silently, staring into one another's eyes for a moment.

"So...What should we do?" Finn asked, feeling awkward.

"Um, I...guess I don't know...I've never really been on a date before..." She kicked the peanut brittle pavement, staring down at it in contemplation.

"Yeah, me neither...I guess I'm not really in my element..." This sparked some curiosity in the young lady.

"And what is your element? I thought humans were non-elemental creatures..."

"Oh, no, I meant, like, um...huh, how can I put it...Being in my element means being where I'm at my best. Like, a dungeon, fighting monsters, escaping traps, stuff like that. When I'm fighting monsters, or saving people, my heart starts pounding, everything feels clearer, and I feel comfortable, even if it's totally dangerous. Like it's just natural for me to be doing stuff like that." She smiled, nodding, and stepping a bit closer to him.

"I...may I join you? Next time you're adventuring, I mean..." Finn frowned, gently taking her hand.

"Well, uh...it would be dangerous...I don't want you getting hurt...Do you know how to fight?" He asked, frowning. She rolled her eyes, and held up her free hand, focusing on it.

"I haven't had much time to practice with this ring on, but—ah!" After some effort, a ball of flame formed in her hand. She grimaced a bit, reigning it in, and finally dismissing the fire, pulling its energy back into her body. "Wow...Harder than I expected..." She frowned, staring at the the ring.

"Well, I'm in no hurry...This is kind of an adventure too..." He squeezed her hand lightly. "We should set up, like, a target practice thing for you. Maybe we could mount the targets on beams coming out of a lake...Then you could practice making and throwing the fireballs, and even work on putting them out like that before they hit the water..." His brain was flooding with ideas, his eyes lighting up a bit. "Oh, but...maybe that's not such a good idea..." Thoughts of her in pain from having her flames extinguished began outnumbering the ideas he had for a shooting gallery.

"I have to work on it if I'm going to get better." She told him, smiling a bit. "I want to be able to see you at your most natural...and it's not like it really hurts that bad..." She lied, not wanting him to feel guilty, or hesitant to let her train. She honestly felt it was a really good idea, and it wasn't as if the flames going out caused her actual damage. They were quiet for a while again, staring at each other, smiling softly.

"HELP!" Someone called out. "THIEF!" Finn turned around to see a masked thug heading down the road toward the bad part of town with a lady's purse in hand. He stared silently, as if frozen by what he was seeing, trying to get into the purse snatcher's head. As the criminal got closer, however, he gave a smirk, and threw out his fist with stunning precision, nailing him in the face.

"W-wow..." Flame Princess stared at how little Finn seemed to think of apprehending criminals. He grabbed the unconscious thug by the arm, and began dragging him down the road, handing a grateful woman her purse as he made his way to the candy castle's front gate, Flame Princess silently walking beside him, staring at him.

"So...does this kind of thing happen often in the Candy Kingdom?" She asked.

"Not really. Honestly, this is the first purse snatcher I've seen inside the actual city."

"But, you...that looked so practiced..." She mumbled to herself. When they found themselves at the castle gate, Jake was helping Princess Bubblegum water the flowers. Flame Princess maintained a distance, shrinking a bit in the presence of the monarch.

"Hey, PB, hi Jake."

"Finn!" Princess Bubblegum exclaimed. "It's nice to see you! Jake said you two were having a private date, though... What brings you here? And who's your unconscious masked friend?"

"Actually, I'm here to see the banana guards. This guy stole a lady's purse so I decked him." Bonnibel gasped, putting her hands to her mouth.

"GUARDS!" She shouted, clapping her hands together. They came forth, spears in hand, and saluted. "You, take this criminal to the dungeon to await trial. You, have Finn take you to where his victim was last seen, to ask for her account of what transpired." The bananas nodded, and Finn lead one of them to the candy person, explaining the situation, and left her and the banana alone.

"So...hm. I still have no idea what to do..." Finn said, frowning, leaning against a wall. "You got any ideas?" He asked, smiling at Edana. She leaned against the wall, smiling, and shook her head.

"No, but...I'm having fun anyway..." She took Finn's hand, smiling at him. He smiled back, gently scratching the back of his head, the large amount of bills itching him slightly.

"Hmm...You wanna do some more shopping? We could get you some books, or something, y'know, some stuff to call your own in the tree fort..."

"Well..." She thought for a moment, "I guess I'll need somewhere to keep my new clothes..."

"Well then, let's go try to find something." He held her hand as they walked around the shopping district, looking for a furniture store. After searching for half an hour and feeling hopeless, they asked a nearby citizen of the kingdom for help finding what they need. He pointed straight up at the sign on the building they were in front of.

"'Billy Bonbon's Bedroom Bonanza.' Huh." The young couple walked inside, and found their way to the armoires. They picked a rather spacious one, and paid for it to be delivered and assembled in the tree fort bedroom.

"So, that's taken care of...um...Do you mind if we get something to eat?" She asked, smiling at him.

"Yeah, no problem. Come on, I know a place that...actually isn't anywhere near this part of town. I've never been down this way before. But I know how to get to it, and it's got really good food. It'll take about twenty minutes to get back there, though. Can you wait, or should we look for something closer?" He asked, looking around for any new restaurants to try.

"I can wait...I, um...I like to learn more about the stuff you like, you know what I mean?" She blushed, shrugging a bit.

"Heh...yeah...I...um...now that you mention it, what kind of stuff do YOU like? I feel like we haven't really talked about you that much..." He turned the conversation towards her, leading her down the road.

"That's because I don't really have anything. I spent half my life locked in a lamp, remember?" She stared at the ground, dragging her feet a bit. Finn winced, realizing his screw up.

"Well, uh...I guess we just gotta try stuff, and see what you like, then, don't we?" She nodded, smiling at him.

"I'd like that." Despite their efforts to keep conversation going, they soon became enveloped in awkward silence once again. They arrived at a pizzeria, ordering some lunch, and ate mostly in silence, until Finn noticed how she was eating her pizza, and sitting in her chair.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, setting his slice on his plate.

"N-no, why? Am I doing something wrong?" She looked a little panicked as she set her slice down as well, carefully dabbing the sauce from her mouth with her napkin.

"You just seem...stiff. Up tight. Like you think if you move wrong, the world's gonna explode. I mean, usually you're pretty easy going, but every now and then, you look like you're scared or something."

The princess frowned, staring down at her pizza. "I...I feel so comfortable around you, Finn...But then I get scared that I'll be too comfortable, that I'm going to slip up, and it's ok if I slip up, I just...not in front of you...I have no idea what I'm doing here, and every time I start feeling too comfortable, I think I'm gonna make some stupid mistake and ruin everything..." She rested her head in her hands, elbows supporting her as she stared down at the pizza. "I'm sorry, Finn... I didn't mean to make you worry...I know, we went through all this last night, but...I'm so used to everything good that I touch just burning away..."

Finn stared at her, trying to think of the best way to phrase his response. "I like you. I don't have any better idea of how to handle this stuff than you do. I know you're scared of messing up, and I am too. But if you'll let me get away with some mistakes now and then, I can do the same for you." She nodded, sighing in relief.

They finished their food, paid for their meal, and went to pick up her clothes from Chet's. They each carried about half the load, but having had little opportunity to exercise until recently, Flame Princess soon had to give her share to Finn, who easily handled the whole load on his own. After a while, they took a break, laying on the hillside, each just enjoying the other's presence for a while.

"What're you guys doing?" Jake asked, finding them on the hillside on his way home.

"Chillin'." Finn replied, just laying on the grass, eyes closed.

"Bags got heavy. Needed a break." Flame Princess added, in a similarly chill state. Jake drastically increased his size, scooping them up in his ear, and placing them gently on his back, bags and all.

"Thanks, Jake." Finn told him, climbing down. He headed up the ladder, carrying all the clothes with him, Flame Princess and Jake close behind.

"Any ideas for stuff to do tomorrow?" Flame Princess asked, hanging up her clothes in the already assembled armoire.

"Well, me and Finn got band practice. You're invited, by the way. Marceline wants to meet you." Jake told her, sniffing at the bags.

"Why are you doing that?" She asked, a bit put off.

"There might be food in those bags. I have to make sure. It's like, an instinct or something." He explained.

Finn smiled, watching the princess interact with his brother and best friend, but deep inside, he couldn't help but feel nervous about what Jake had said. Bubblegum and Marceline would both be there. Flame Princess had spent little time with Bubblegum, and hadn't even met the vampire queen yet. Would they get along? Would there be a fight? Whose side would he take if there was? He knew the others longer, but there was no denying how he felt about Edana. After a while, he decided to just tackle the challenges as they came. And then he tackled Jake.

"ROUGH HOUSE!" He screamed, as they fell to the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Finn jumped forward, grabbing the Flame Princess by the hand, holding her steady. She breathed a sigh of relief, her balance regained. "Thanks, Finn...that would've been bad..." She said, looking down into chasm and the surging river running along its bottom, and once more being stricken with the dizzying effects of vertigo, she stumbled backwards a bit.

"Why does your friend Marceline live in such a difficult to reach place?" She asked, having some trouble with the uneven ground of the Red Rock Cliffs.

"Well, she's a vampire. She can fly. I don't think she really knows that it's much of a problem for other people to get here." Finn answered, offering her his arm to hang on to for stability.

"I see... And why doesn't Jake just carry us?" She asked, confused.

"You guys didn't ask." Jake answered flatly, walking a few paces ahead of them.

"In that case, can you carry me the rest of the way? I'm having trouble with this terrain..."

"Nope." Jake told her, stopping.

"Why not?" She asked, her voice having a bit of a whine to it.

"'Cause we're here." Finn answered, walking into a cave. He looked over at the princess, smiling a bit as she still hung to his arm. On the one hand, it felt a bit silly having her cling to him for support when there was so little risk of her falling. On the other hand, there was no way he was going to object to her being on his arm. He knocked on the door of Marceline's house, feeling a bit nervous about how she'd get along with the princess.

The door slowly creaked open, no one seen inside the darkened home. All at once, the queen of the vampires appeared to them as a writhing monstrosity, howling and roaring in their faces. Flame Princess screamed, clinging to Finn. It was clear they were already off to a bad start.

"Come on, Marceline. She's already nervous about meeting you." Finn scolded her gently. The beast in the doorway turned into a teenaged girl with bloody punctures in her neck.

"Hey, sorry about-...are you ok?" She asked, frowning. Flame Princess hid behind Finn, whimpering, sparks forming in her eyes. "Sheesh. I don't know how, but you actually made me feel bad about scaring someone. Way to take the fun out of it. Alright, come on in, guys." She turned on the lights, and floated over toward the couch. "Bonnibel's upstairs in the bathroom. Oh, you guys brought Beemo, right?" She double checked. Finn reached into his pack, removing the computer.

"Hello, Marceline." The computer chirped, wiggling his arms and legs.

"Hey, cutie. Alright, make yourselves at home, I've got some snacks for you in the fridge, we're just waiting on Bonnie." Flame Princess took this invitation to make herself comfortable in the worst way possible, timidly heading towards the sofa and sitting down, immediately regretting it.

"Ow...This is the worst couch ever..." She flopped off, sitting on the floor in front of it instead.

"Yeah, sorry, most of my friends can float, and I haven't gotten around to redecorating for everyone else. I'm lookin' into it though. I didn't even know it was so bad until Finn and Jake told me." Marceline explained, floating on her back, legs crossed and arms behind her head. After a moment of waiting and small talk, Princess Bubblegum climbed down the ladder, greeting everyone, and grabbing Beemo to remove his face, grabbing a stool.

"By the way, Edana, I would like to talk to you in private once we're done." She commented with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, me too. I mean, if that's ok." Marceline added. Edana felt her stomach churning from her nerves, staring at the two older girls. "Now, we only really have one song written, and we've just been trying to find a sound that works for all of us...but since we've got an audience, why don't we play our song?" She asked, turning to Finn. "Our WHOLE song."

"Marceline..." He blushed, looking away from her.

"Marceline, she already knows." Bubblegum told her, putting a hand on the queen's shoulder. Marceline's eyes went wide and her expression radically changed.

"She does?" She looked at Finn with a wry smile. "I gotta stop hanging out with jerks...I keep forgetting how pure of heart and junk you are, Finn." She gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder, turning to the Flame Princess. "Sorry sparkles, I just kind of figured they kept it secret, and I felt like you should know Finn hangs out with his old crush. That part of the song's not that important though, the very beginning, but it's still the only song we have, so everybody, let's pick it up from the first 'what am I to you', ok?" Everyone nodded, and Finn began singing as they played.

After Edana finished applauding their performance, and a quick question, the nature of the doorlord's door was explained.

"I see...So the truth you're talking about..." She stared at him with eyes filled with understanding.

"It...it was that I wasn't sure if they saw me as a real friend." He confirmed, frowning a bit. "And that even if they didn't, I still saw all of them that way." With that, the whole of the band gave Finn a reassuring group hug, Edana smiling softly at them. "And since I sang such a personal song," He added, turning toward Marceline, "Maybe for next week you should have an ending to yours written?"

Her blood drained skin still seemed to redden with embarrassment as she glared at Finn a bit. Bubblegum placed her hand on Marceline's, frowning at her.

"I need to talk to you in private before we do anything else...I wanted to do it before everyone got here, but...I...um...had to powder my nose..." Marceline stared at her, mildly confused.

"Take five, everybody." She grabbed Bubblegum around the waist, and carried her up to her room. "What's all this about, Bonnibel?"

"I'm sorry for how I've treated you...and how I've reacted to your presence." She held herself with rigid, regal bearing. "But before I say anything else, are the words in your song really true? Do you not remember what, um, put you on my blacklist, as you said?"

"I figure it had to do with, y'know, way back when..." Bubblegum nodded, frowning.

"That was when the ring was on you, wasn't it?" She asked, placing a hand on Marceline's shoulder. "For three months, you were the sweetest person in the world to me. Then, you changed into the vampire I see now." Memories flooded into Marceline.

"Yeah...yeah, I remember now..." She could not maintain eye contact, or even look at the princess. "You got the ring off me, but..." She trailed off, eyes on the floor.

"The emotional requirement applies to both parties." Bubblegum finished.

"I...I was tired of pretending, just to get you to like me. I wanted you to see the real me... But when you did, you..." She wiped the tears out of her eyes, sniffling a bit. Soon she felt warm arms around her as Bubblegum hugged her from behind.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted. I'm sorry for trying to cut ties, and most of all...I'm sorry it took so long for me to say I'm sorry." Marceline turned around and hugged her back.

"And I'm sorry I used you to get that ring off..." Bubblegum put her finger to Marceline's lips.

"I just want you to know...You're not my problem. You're my friend." They shared a tender embrace for a moment, then, after clearing their eyes of tears, and their heads of bad memories, returned downstairs.

"Ugh. Seriously?" Marceline demanded, seeing the mass of crumbs and wrappers sitting on her living room floor around Finn, Jake and Edana. "I expected it from these boys, but I was hoping a princess would be a bit more careful. Ah, whatever...I'll clean it up later." She grabbed her bass, and began setting up a smooth rhythm. Jake joined in, Finn began beat boxing, and Bubblegum used Beemo's circuits as her synthesizer. They experimented with plenty of different tunes, before finally deciding to stop for the evening.

"So...What did you want to talk to me about?" Edana asked Marceline as everyone lounged about her home.

"Better you talk to Bonnibel first. I gotta clean up this mess. Finn, can you pick up those wrappers?" She asked, grabbing a vacuum from the closet. He nodded, collecting the trash and throwing it away in the kitchen as Bonnibel and Edana climbed the ladder, while Jake stood in the corner, growling at the vacuum.

"So?" Bonnibel asked, smiling brightly.

"I'm...sorry?"

"How are things going with Finn?"

"I...um, they're going pretty well...I still get a little nervous around him..." Edana confessed, feeling very awkward.

"I'm glad...He's been a dear friend to me for a long time... I used to worry he'd never find someone his own age, who could give him the love he deserves..." She smiled, but still, there was something sad in her eyes. After a moment of looking into her eyes, Flame Princess had a revelation.

"You love him, don't you?" Edana asked, immediately regretting it. She didn't want to hear the answer. Bubblegum stared at her for a bit, surprised by her bluntness. She blushed, and turned away.

"I do..." She sighed a bit sadly. "But I could never have done something as cruel as telling him." She looked back at Edana, tears welling up in her eyes, beginning to fall down her cheeks. "If my people found out, he'd be looked to as more than just a hero...They would demand so much of him. He wouldn't be able to be a boy any longer...He would be seen as a leader, even if we were only dating...His freedom would be gone, with his childhood..." She stared at Edana for a moment, before moving in to hug her tightly.

"Thank you so much, for all you've done for him..." She whispered sadly. Edana hugged back, frowning.

"I...I don't know what to say..." Edana replied, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. "What exactly would the candy people have demanded?" Bubblegum pulled out of the hug, staring into her eyes.

"Fealty to the monarch." She said sadly. Edana nodded. His freedom really would have been lost. He would be her knight, her champion. He would have no choice but to follow her orders, and be ready to come to her every beck and call. And even if she asked him to ignore his obligations to her as a technicality, with his sense of honor, he would have trouble doing so.

"I'm sorry I took him from you...is there anything you want from me?" She offered awkwardly.

"Promise me that you will treat him with all the kindness he shows you." Bubblegum wiped the tears from her eyes, took a deep breath, and went downstairs. "I'll send Marceline up now." Flame Princess nodded at her, smiling softly. She sat quietly, waiting for Marceline for a moment, her eyes wandering around the room.

"Hi." Marceline said from directly above her, floating casually, and eliciting a startled yelp from the princess.

"Um...Hello..." She stared at the vampire. "So...What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I dunno, just wanted to shoot the breeze, get to know ya. You play any music? Wanna see if you got a place in the band?"

"Oh, uh...No thank you...I've never performed for people before..." She blushed, staring at the floor.

"We don't perform, we just hang out and play music. Tonight was the biggest audience we ever had. Anyway, tell me about yourself. I'm curious about the girl who could tear hero boy's eyes off of Bonnibel. Any deep, dark secrets?" She asked, moving in close, exaggeratedly hissing her words with her forked tongue.

"N-no...um...not really..." She shrank back, shaking a little.

"Wow." Marceline stared at her blankly. "You're like a little timid bunny. Taking all the fun out of scaring you... Sorry about that, kiddo. Seriously though, if you play an instrument, think it over. Even if you can sing, we might bring you into the band. This whole thing is a group of friends having fun together, and you're part of that group, even though I don't know you that well. Everyone else seems to like you, so you must be pretty rad."

"Thank you...I will consider your gracious offer..." Marceline stared at her for a bit.

"Killer." She patted her gently on the head. "So, what'd you and Bonni-"

"MARCELINE!" Finn called from the living room, "SOMEONE'S AT YOUR DOOR!" She scooped up the Flame Princess and brought her downstairs, opening the door.

"Hi, Marceline. You guys have band practice tonight, right?" The Ice king asked, holding a large rock. He leaned to the side, looking past her. "Finn!" He muscled past Marceline. "You said we'd hang out next time you clobbered me, then the next time I kidnap a princess, you don't bother showing up! The one time I want you to. That hurts, Finn."

"What princess?" Finn asked, having heard no news of an abduction.

"This princess! From the rock kingdom!" He held her up to Finn's face.

"Uh, yeah, that's just a regular rock." He commented. The Ice King stared at it for a moment, dropped it on the floor, and flew off, grumbling about wizard eyes. Marceline closed the door behind him, staring at the rock on her carpet.

"...I like it." She finally decided before lazily floating around the room with no set destination. "It pulls the room together. So what's this about hanging with him after you beat him up?"

"Well, he came to the window when the Flame Princess was in my bed, asking to hang out. I told him I'd give him some time after the next time I knocked the stuff out of him."

"She was in your bed?" Marceline cast a suggestive look at him. "And where were you?"

"I-it's not like that! I was underneath her!" Realizing that he made it sound even worse, clarified, "I mean, under the bed, in my sleeping bag!" Marceline gave him a light noogie as she floated past.

"Don't worry, I know you better than that. You're a goodie-two-shoes. The coolest one I've ever met, but still." She looked at the clock and frowned. "You boys should probably head home, and get ready for when the Ice King catches an actual princess." Finn and Jake nodded, the former opening his backpack to let Beemo climb in. Flame Princess bid the other royalty farewell, and the four of them left.

"You heading out, too, Bonni?" Marceline asked.

"Nah, I've got to make up some lost time with an old friend." They smiled, staring into each other's eyes for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

Finn looked back at the house, hearing the raucous laughter. "Aww, man...sounds like they're having fun without us," Jake whined, growing much larger to give his friends a ride home.

"So, what'd you think?" Finn asked, smiling at the Flame Princess.

"It was very beautiful...I hope to hear you all play more..." She told him, returning his smile.

"No, I mean, what'd you think of Marceline?"

"Oh, she was kind, but very intimidating...I felt like her presence was draining the heat from my body a little...I think it was just her power though...I'm very sensitive to magical fields, and hers was immensely overpowering..." She noticed the look of concern on Finn's face, and decided to change the tone of the conversation. "She asked if I wanted to try out for the band, but I don't know if I'd really be able to contribute."

"Well, do you play anything?" Jake asked, swiftly traversing the landscape.

"I used to, but I'm very rusty. It's been a long time, you know?" As with every passing, nonchalant mention of her imprisonment, an awkward silence fell over the trio. Soon they were home, and Finn unpacked Beemo before sitting down on the living room floor and resuming his work, the area filled with planks, nails, circular boards.

"How are the targets coming?" Flame Princess asked, sitting beside him.

"Great. Should have enough to set up a practice range tomorrow. We'll need more when you start burning them up though." He set the materials aside, cleaning up his work area, and sat on the floor once again, sitting in front of the princess, blushing a bit. They stared at one another for a moment, each enjoying the quiet moment to themselves, but also unsure of how to proceed.

"Kiss her, Finn." Jake demanded, sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee. He took a small sip, watching them. "Come on, give her a smooch!" They glared at him, and decided to go up to the boat.

"It just occurred to me," Edana said, looking out towards the horizon, "I don't know much about your past." Finn scratched his head, thinking of where to begin.

"Well, I was adopted by Jake's parents when we were babies...Mom and dad are gone now, so we found our own place here in the tree fort...and we've been rough and tumble adventurers ever since. Righting wrongs, and punching evil. We have a lot of little stories, but I don't remember what order they happened in..." He stared into the sky, reflecting on his past. Edana nodded, sighing a bit.

"It's been a pretty active couple of days, hasn't it?" She asked, leaning back a bit, resting her hands on the deck of the boat beneath her. "Do you guys always do this much stuff, or is it just when you have someone staying with you?"

"Well, we do have days where we just chill out some times. Not often though."

"I hope I feel adjusted soon...I'm worried I'm gonna burn out at this rate." She joked, smirking at him. They fell into another silence for a moment. Edana desperately wished for physical contact, found herself hesitating, worried she would be intruding too much on his personal space. Finally, she decided to simply accept what consequences came, moving to the other seat of the boat, beside Finn, and resting her head on his shoulder. She sighed happily as he put his arm around her waist, sitting there together for hours.

As they relaxed, staring off into the distance, they heard a loud, jarring screech behind them. They whipped their heads around to see the source of the noise, finding the Morrow perched on the edge of the boat, Princess Bubblegum seated on its back.

"Hi guys. I hope I'm not interrupting, but Marceline gave me an idea and I'm feeling really excited about it. I already went home and had the royal planners pick a time and date, so here." She handed them envelopes, grinning widely. They opened the envelopes, finding invitations within.

"'You are cordially invited to a ball held by her most royal Highness, Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum, in honor of the visiting of royalty from the esteamed Fire Kingdom...'" Edana paused, pointing out that esteemed was misspelled, an error that Bonnibel assured her was intentional. "Oh, alright then, 'visiting foreign lands for the first time.' I'm honored, princess... I would be happy to attend." She blushed, glowing with joy. She turned to Finn, looking deeply into his eyes. "Finn, would you accompany me?" He nodded, blushing a bit.

"It would be an honor."

"Great! Here's Jake's invitation. The date is on the back." Bubblegum told them, handing them another small envelope. "Now, I just have to-" She froze, mid sentence, in more ways than one. She rolled off the Morrow, and Finn lunged out to catch her. Flame Princess grabbed him around the waist, helping him to keep from falling.

"JAKE! HELP!" He shouted, having trouble keeping Princess Bubblegum from falling off the side of the boat, her icy prison too wide to fit safely inside it. The dog came to see what was the matter, and lowered everyone to the ground once he had. There standing in front of them, was the Ice King.

"Finally, you guys are gonna sock it to me, right?" All three shot him piercing glares. Jake bared his teeth, his hackles rising. Finn clenched his fists tightly, and readied himself to charge. Ice King smiled, seeing them poised for battle, and swatted the crown off of his head. "Oh no, I'm defenseless, whatever will I do?" He said exaggeratedly. Bubblegum began coughing loudly, drawing attention away from the king, as Edana held a ball of fire over her to melt the ice. Finn and Jake looked at each other and nodded. They calmly walked over to the Ice King, and smiled at him. Finn gave him a devastating punch to the gut, and Jake kneed him in the face as he fell forward from the boy's blow.

"You ok, PB?" Finn asked over his shoulder.

"Fine, just some water down the wrong pipe when it was melting." She shook her head furiously, trying to throw off the disorientation of a flash-freezing. "I'm going to go home and lay down. See you guys later." The Morrow swooped down and grasped her in its mighty talons, flying back to the Candy Kingdom.

"Now what do you want?" Finn asked, holding the king's crown.

"Why is she still hiding? I'm harmless without my crown." He said, looking at the cowering Flame Princess. Jake snapped his fingers in front of Ice king's face.

"Focus, man. Why is it so important we hang out?"

"Huh? Oh, right! I wanted to invite you over and show you this new thing at my place." They considered his invitation for a moment, and Finn handed him his crown back.

"You wanna stay here, FP?" He asked, mounting Jake. After a moment's consideration, Edana elected to go with him, climbing on behind him. Finn handed her his yellow sweater, pulling the like-like sweater from his backpack for himself. After quick trek, they entered the Ice King's castle. Finn gave a startled shout when he saw what the Ice King had brought him to see.

"Pretty crazy, right?" Ice King smiled, the others gathered near him. They stared up at a massive beast, humanoid in form, but monstrous in proportion, locked in a cage of ice. "I woke up a week ago and he was gnawing on my leg. I think his name is Wendy. I keep throwing him out but he keeps coming back. So, I decided to keep him as my pet." As they moved closer to the bars, its eyes snapped open.

"I smell..." It growled, "Human flesh..." It lunged at the bars, cracking them. "THE WENDIGO MUST FEED!"

"Aww, he likes you! That's a good Wendy." Ice King patted it on the face, receiving a nasty bite to the hand.

"Be gone, was-man...you were a tempting snack, but a meal has arrived..." The king froze the creature's mouth over, scowling at it.

"Bad Wendy. Bad. We don't bite, and we don't insult daddy." It wrenched its jaw open, snarling.

"YOU ARE A PALE IMITATION OF FOOD, BUT FOR YOUR INSULTS, YOU WILL FILL MY BELLY! I WILL PICK SHARDS OF YOUR BONES FROM MY TEETH FOR NO REASON BEYOND MY HATRED! BUT FIRST, THE HUMAN..." It charged at the bars again, but as it did, small stalagmites formed of the frozen floor, digging into his feet, and causing him to fall backwards on his rump.

"Anyway, I just wanted you guys to meet my new pet. Looks like I need to work on some obedience training, so you can go if you want." The wintery wizard told them as the Wendigo let forth a howl of otherworldly rage. The children quickly mounted the dog, making a hasty retreat.

"That thing was crazy! You ever hear of that, Jake? A Wendigo?" He asked as the wind rushed past him, the dog running home at full speed.

"I don't know nothin' 'bout that. Pretty creepy though. I haven't seen that much drool since the last time Jermaine took a nap in front of me." Finn gave a weak chuckle, patting the dog. The princess gripped her hero tightly from behind, terrified of the strange beast she had just seen, and even more so by the creature it kept in a cage. Neither she nor Finn would be able to sleep soundly that night.


	4. Chapter 4

To reviewer Demonbloodfeeder: Just because she was in the kingdom doesn't mean Marceline ever went to their palace or met their royalty. All we know she did for sure was hula hoop in a field of flame. Let's not forget, Marceline is immortal. This could've happened at any point, even before Flame Princess was born. Your argument really just doesn't hold water. Also anonymous reviews are disabled so I can give replies like these in private.

Finn awoke with a start, a tremendous, bellowing voice echoing through the tree fort. "Daughter? Where are you? I wish to speak with you!" Looking around, Finn could see that it had likewise awakened both Edana and Jake. The Flame Princess rushed to the living room window, sticking her head out, and calling to her father.

"Everyone was sleeping, dad! Keep it down, I'll be right out!" She told him, as Finn and Jake peeked downstairs. She climbed down the ladder, and walked out the treasure room, looking up to her looming father.

"I've missed you, Edana." He told her, smiling. "Have you made many new friends?" He sat on the ground, the grass around him wilting from the heat. Edana sat next to him, and spoke of her time spent with Finn's friends, and even that she had been invited to join a band. "Really...I'll have to send a steward to bring you your flute when I return..." He told her, smiling. "I've heard news of a royal ball in your honor, and I just had to come out and see my beloved jewel." He patted her head gently, and stood back up. "I'm proud of you, Edana." He leaned down, and kissed her on the top of her head, before heading off towards the Fire Kingdom.

"BYE FLAME KING!" Finn shouted from the window. The king turned around, waving to the boy for a moment, before continuing on his way. Finn looked down at the princess, smiling. "Morning, Flame Princess!"

"Good morning, Finn!" she shouted back to him, stifling a giggle. She hurried up the ladder, and, in the privacy of the bathroom, changed into a light, breezy top and skirt for the day. When she was changed, she went back down to the living room, and from there, saw Finn, sitting at the kitchen table, drawing. She walked up behind him, her curiosity piqued, and she watched over his shoulder.

"What're you drawing?" She asked, pulling up a chair. Finn slid a piece of paper over to her. On it was a strange bulgy purple shape with a star on it.

"That's Lumpy Space Princess. She shows up at everything. Parties, balls, monster attacks... But I wanted to give you a heads up. Lumpy space people are really rude, but they always get upset when someone else is rude to them. If you talk to her at the ball, she may say something, and it might seem like she's trying to hurt your feelings. She's not." Finn explained as she studied the picture. Jake brought them their breakfast, and they began eating.

"So why did you decide to tell me about this?" She asked, between bites. "I appreciate you letting me know, but it's weird that all of a sudden you bring it up..."

"I dropped the jelly jar. He thought the jelly on the floor looked like LSP." Jake told her between heaping mouthfuls.

Finn was caught off guard, and couldn't take his eyes away from Jake's mouth. "Ugh..." he pulled the top of his hat down over his eyes. "Gross, Jake..."

After breakfast, they gathered up the targets Finn made, and headed out toward a lake, Jake planting each one in the soft mud of the lake bed. Edana formed a ball of fire in her hand, hesitating for a moment.

"Here goes nothing..." she muttered, throwing the large flame at a target, completely missing, the ball of fire falling into the water and fizzling out. "OWW!" she yelped in shock. Finn dashed to her side.

"Are you ok?" He asked, hand on her back.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." She took a deep breath, and stared at the target. "I can do this. It's just nerves..." She took another breath, focusing, as Finn walked back over to where he and Jake were sitting to watch her. She formed another ball of fire, throwing it at the same target, this time making a solid impact.

"YES!" She shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. She turned to Finn, excited. "I did it! I knew I could OWW!" She fell to her knees as the target toppled, all the fire that had spread across it falling into the water. She held up a hand toward Finn, breathing a bit heavily. "Hang on...I'm fine, just...ok. I'm ok now." She forced a ball of fire into her hand, throwing this one at another target, again, hitting it squarely. She nervously clenched her fists and teeth, focusing on the flames, pulling her magic out of them, and causing them to fade out of existence. She threw another fireball at a third target, this time just clipping the side of it. It burned quickly, but with the pain of most of her strike falling into the water, she couldn't focus, and once again a target toppled into the water, putting out her flames.

"I think that's enough for today." Finn told her, seeing her struggling to her feet. "I think you need to try to make smaller fireballs though." He helped her up, and as he smiled at her, she could see the worry in his eyes.

"You...You're probably right...I'm not used to having a limit on my power...I used it up too quickly...so stupid..." She admonished herself, head hung low.

"You're not stupid, Edana...We're here so you can learn to control it better. And next time, you've got an idea to help you do that." He gave her a charming smile, and put her arm over his shoulders, noticing the weakness in her step.

"That didn't last very long." Jake said, helping them onto his back.

"Jake!" Finn glared at the dog.

"No, he's right. I tried to burn too bright, and I burned out too quick instead..." Edana frowned, staring at her hands. The gem on her ring was faded and pale.

Halfway home, they were stopped by a cry for help. Finn jumped to the ground, looking over his shoulder at Jake.

"You two head on home, I'm gonna go take care of this!" He dashed off into the woods, eager to see some action. Edana watched after him with worry in her eyes.

"You ok, FP?" Jake asked, as he began taking her back to the tree fort.

"I have a very bad feeling about this..." She scrambled up the ladder, her limbs weak, a sense of sourceless desperation driving her.

Finn ran through the forest, grinning. He loved to help people, short and simple. And if it helping them might mean he gets to punch some bad guys, all the better. Finally, he came to the source of the screaming. Wildberry Princess ran towards him, tears in her eyes, and hid behind Finn.

"Finn, thank goodness! Please, help me!"

"Sure, but...what's going on?" He asked, turning back to face the path she'd come from, the smell of burning wood heavy in the air.

"They sent another one!"

"Another what?" He couldn't see any smoke or fire, but he definitely smelled something burning.

"After you thwarted a second class assassin, they decided to send a master!" Finn's eyes went wide as a tall, lanky figure, wrapped in bandages over his head and forearms, walked onto the path, leaving whatever part of a tree he happened to brush against black and burnt as he went.

"Scorcher..." Finn clenched his fists, looking around. He knew he couldn't use his fists without getting severely burnt, and he had left all his weapons at home. Scorcher's eyes went wide when he saw the human boy in front of him. "Wildberry Princess...He was contracted against me way before you...Right, Scorcher? So you've gotta kill me before you can lay a hand on her!" He paused for a moment. "That's how it works, right?" Scorcher gave a curt nod, his eyes narrowing. "Run." He told the princess, who quickly complied.

Finn gave a startled yell as he ducked under a blast of fire. Rolling to his side, he picked up a rock, and whipped it right at Scorcher's face. The assassin, with a sense of serene focus, caught the rock in his hand with no effort, and began to walk slowly, inexorably towards Finn.

"Oh Gob." He said, looking for something else to throw at the tall, hunched figure. "You know what?" Scorcher tilted his head, still moving closer. "You got a job. I can respect that. But I can't let you hurt other people. So I'm just gonna have to not die, ok?" Scorcher gave a hissing crackling sound. Finn wasn't sure, but he could swear his soon-to-be murderer was laughing.

"FINN!" Edana cried, "CATCH!" She threw with all her might a weapon Finn had sorely wished he brought with him on his own. He could see the throw fell far short of him, and leaped into the air to grab the family sword, landing with the blade out to his side at arm's length, perched low, with his free hand on the ground. Jake shrunk, setting Edana down as he went.

"Yo, bro, you got my mitts?" He asked, staring at Scorcher. Finn reached into his pack, tossing a pair of boxing gloves to Jake. Not bothering to untie them, he shrunk his hands and slid them inside before returning them to normal size. Finn shot him a knowing glance, and Jake nodded. They both knew the gloves wouldn't hold up for long against Scorcher, but they didn't have many options.

The assassin glared at them, before dashing at Jake, clearly the weaker link in the chain. He punched, kicked, and jabbed at the dog. Each blow was dodged as Jake stretched and shrank and reshaped himself out of the way, but each one was getting closer and closer as well, his fur starting to get singed by the heat coming off of the enemy. After a few moments, he finally hit Jake, who stumbled backwards. Only then, with a wider view of his opponent, did Scorcher notice only one glove visible. The dog's other arm was stretched back into the trees. As he scanned the area for the point of attack, Jake struck, his gloved fist flying out of the trees behind his target, who spun quickly, and grabbed the glove, quickly burning through it, only to find the hand had already retreated back to its body.

Finn shouted as he charged, Scorcher turning to face him, and stepping out of the way of the human's blade. Turning to once more face the boy now behind him, he raised his hand, blasting a surging inferno at his back. The flames grew and grew as he poured more and more power into them, but his target was unscathed, as a young woman stood between them, breathing heavily.

Edana knew she was outclassed in control, and as long as she had the ring on, he was more powerful, too, but she still had a trick or two to call on, using every ounce of focus she could muster to pull his flames at her fireproof body. Scorcher was growing visibly enraged, and ceased his fiery assault, instead opting to grab the girl by the throat to get her out of his way. He held her up to his face, squeezing her neck, hissing at her.

"Won't...ghk...let you...hurt..." She lost consciousness, and he dropped her to the ground. Death would be unnecessary. She was an obstruction, not a target. He looked back to Finn, to find the dog in his place.

"Dude, you just lost." He told the assassin, pointing at his stomach. Looking down, Scorcher's eyes went wide with disbelief, the family sword extending forth from his abdomen. He lurched forward, smoke and heat spilling forth from the wound.

"Nooootttt...Ooooverrrrrr..." his voice was ghastly and distorted as he disappeared in a plume of fire. Finn rushed to Edana's side, yanking his hat off, and putting his ear to her mouth. He sighed in relief.

"She's still breathing..." He then froze, realizing something, his cheeks growing bright red as he stared. "So...I guess those clothes weren't fireproof." He added, intentionally putting his Awesome Hat on backwards.

"Nnn...Finn? FINN, WHERE'S YOUR FACE?" She shouted in panic, bolting upright, and immediately regretting it as she felt immensely dizzy.

"My hat's on backwards." He told her, his voice mumbled.

"Why...?"

"Because your shirt burned up." He told her. She gave a startled shout, covering herself, feeling incredibly embarrassed and exposed.

"Here." Jake said as he, avoiding looking at the princess, reached into his brother's backpack and tossed the yellow sweater in her direction. She quickly pulled it on, desperate to be covered.

"Ok, you guys can look now." She said, straightening it out. Finn tried to turn his hat around, but it was caught on the tufts of hair poking through the face hole. Finally, he just took it off, and put it on the right way. He grabbed hold of his sword, and plucked a leaf off a tree, wiping the soot off the blade.

"So that cry for help was a trap?" Jake asked, tossing aside his single boxing glove, having decided that it was useless on its own. Finn froze, suddenly remembering that Wildberry Princess must still be scared. He quickly explained that she had been running from the assassin, and Jake used his nose to track her down, finding her hiding inside a hollowed out log, trembling with fear.

"It's ok, Wildberry Princess. He's gone." Finn told her, helping her out of the log, and with Flame Princess, they climbed onto Jake's back.

"Oh, thank you, Finn." She clung to him, nuzzling his chest a bit. "This is the second time you've saved my life from those dreadful assassins... If there's anything I can do to repay you..." She smiled up at him, juice rushing to her cheeks. She was startled as she heard Flame Princess clear her throat. "Oh, who are you?" She asked, smiling cheerfully.

"I'm his girlfriend." She said flatly, staring at the other princess, who quickly backed away from Finn.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry! I didn't know Finn had a girlfriend! I promise you, I wasn't, um... oh dear, I've made a mess of things, haven't I?" She frowned, giving up on trying to explain. Flame Princess felt guilt welling up inside of her.

"Relax, it's not a big deal...I mean, even if that was your intent, I trust Finn." The boy blushed, smiling a bit, trying to hide his face from either of them. "And besides, like you said, you didn't know he was spoken for."

"Thank you so much for being so understanding. If we weren't moving so fast, I'd come give you a hug." She said, though Edana silently wondered if she wasn't just trying to make her hug to Finn seem like something very common. Jake slowed down when they entered the Berry Kingdom, the Wildberry Princess giving Edana a guided tour of her homeland. When they finally finished the tour, Wildberry Princess was left at her castle, as the others returned to the tree fort. Edana hurried upstairs, changing into a fresh shirt, and returned to the living room, walking over to the couch, and flopping down on it, head back, sighing.

"Is it even lunch time yet?" She asked tiredly. "This has been a big day..." Finn smiled softly at her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you need to take a nap, or lie down?" He asked, worrying that she might have overexerted herself.

"I think I'm ok...I'm all charged up again after that guy...Why was he trying to kill you, anyway? I know he was after the Wildberry Princess, but...why did he attack you?" She asked, leaning on him.

"You sure you don't want to lie down?" He asked, causing her to shift her weight, laying on her side, her head on his lap. He blushed heavily as she did the same, having misinterpreted his question as an invitation, and not exactly eager to decline.

"Will you tell me now?" She asked, thinking she'd fulfilled a prerequisite.

"It's kind of a long story..." She huffed at the answer. "What?"

"All of your stories are kind of long stories. I'm starting to worry I'll never hear any of them..." He stared into her eyes at an awkward angle for a moment, then smiled.

"Alright. It all started when I got a call from the Breakfast Princess." He then recounted the tale of the Ice King's grounding, and the hitman he hired as a form of tantrum, and his saving of Finn and Jake's lives by making them look dead.

"Wow..." She said, staring up at him in wonder, before a smile broke on her face. "Will you tell me another one?"

"Maybe later." Jake said, setting down two plates on the coffee table. "You don't want Finn talking with his mouth full. I made you love birds some sammiches, by the way." He stepped back, and stared at them.

Finn stared back, his cheeks getting hot. "Why are you looking at us like that?"

"You guys are really cute together." Jake replied, grinning a bit. "I'm gonna go hang with Lady, give you two some privacy." He stretched out the window head first, his rear following him out once his front touched the ground.

Edana sat up and grabbed her sandwich. After sniffing it, she took a large bite. They ate in silence, flashing small smiles at each other every so often. After a moment, Finn stood, and walked into the kitchen. "You want some juice?" He offered as he poured himself a glass.

"Yes, please." She asked, smiling toward him. She had spent half her life locked away, two barriers, one of glass, and one of rage, preventing any kind of meaningful connection with someone else. And now, here she was, sitting in a little room in a tree, eating a sandwich, as if she had lived her life as a normal person. Thinking back on her solitude and isolation, she almost couldn't believe it had happened to her. She took the glass of juice, bowing her head a bit in gratitude, and took a small sip before having another bite of her sandwich.

She felt weird about saying anything, but she felt she had to let him know. "I really like this..." She told him, blushing.

"Yeah, Jake makes great sandwiches." Finn replied as he finished his off.

"No, I didn't mean the sandwich..." The human boy gave her a look of confusion.

"You don't like the sandwich?"

"I do...but what I meant was I really like just sitting here...with you..." She placed her hand on his, smiling. She finished off her food and drink, and looked into his eyes, which she noticed were lingering a bit lower than they should have. She put her arm over her chest, blushing hard. "What are you doing?" She glared at him despite herself.

"I-I'm sorry! I just...it's...I was surprised, when it happened, and, uh...I was just thinking about how, y'know, you saved my life, and then what happened just after that, and...I'm sorry." He bowed his head with a sense of defeat.

"And what did happen right after?" She asked. She knew they had gotten out of it alive, but that was about all she did know about it. Finn explained his impaling Scorcher on his sword, his vanishing in a burst of fire, and lastly, what happened when he made sure she was breathing.

"Well, I guess that's ok...at least I know you weren't staring when I was unconscious... Not that I thought you would, just..."

"Yeah, I get it." He responded, smiling at her. "And I'm sorry, I'll try my best not to do that again...the staring, I mean..." His face shifted to one of deep remorse. He clearly believed that he had upset her far more than he actually had. She grimaced a bit, feeling uncomfortable.

"I wasn't that mad. I mean...it's understandable with a boy your age...I was just surprised that you of all people..." They were unable to even look at one another, caught in a tense, uncomfortable silence. Two young people in love, both too ashamed of their follies to express forgiveness for the other person's mistake.

Eventually they both pushed the shame and embarrassment into the back of their minds, and opened up to each other once again, both hiding feelings from the other. Edana was the first to speak.

"Can you tell me another story?" She asked, sitting as far down the couch from him as she could, unable to bring herself to look at him. Finn thought for a moment, trying to remember something he could talk about that wouldn't involve feelings for any members of candy royalty.

"...Ok. So, me and Jake woke up real early in the morning. This HUGE monster was stomping around outside our house. At first, we thought he was just some kinda dream or something." Edana smiled, scooting closer to her. By the time the tale of Party Pat was concluded, they were sitting close together again.

Hesitating out of nerves, Edana sat silently for a moment, blushing. Before Finn could ask her if something was wrong, however, he found her lips on his, her arms around his neck. He placed a hand on her hip, kissing back for a moment, before she broke contact and laid her head gently on his chest.

"I wasn't that mad...and I'm sorry I made you feel so bad for it." She told him, hiding her face against his shirt.

"No, I'm the one that's sorry..." She reached up awkwardly and tried to put her finger to his lips to silent him, but with her eyes still hidden from him, she wound up groping at his face. He took her hand from his eyeball and held it gently. "What do you say we just forget the whole thing every happened?"

"Ok..." she mumbled into his chest. "I love you..." she added, letting herself enjoy the embrace.

"I love you too, Edana..." He reached down, cupping her chin with his hand. He gently guided her face up to his, pulling her into another kiss. After a moment, they broke apart, their faces flushed.

"Wow...I..." Edana cleared her throat, walking to the window, and opening it up. "I think this might be the first time I've ever felt overheated..." Finn chuckled, then walked up behind her, putting his arms around her waist, and smelling her hair. She turned around, hugging back, smiling at him, then pulling away again.

"is something wrong, Princess?" Finn asked. "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" He took a step back, trying to give her space. She tugged her shirt down a bit, absent mindedly, and shook her head.

"Quite the opposite...A bit too comfortable...it's nice to be alone, and have no supervision, but...I don't trust myself right now..." She rubbed her face, and shook her head. "I just...I...My thoughts keep drifting, and I catch myself going places I'm not ready for...I'm sorry, Finn, I just...I..." He took her hand, and stared into her eyes, just smiling innocently.

"Wanna play some Beemo?" He asked.

"I'd like that."


	5. Chapter 5

Attention readers: sorry for the wait, my computer's in the shop, power supply issues and whatnot, at least the manufacturer warranty is still in effect so it's free to fix. Have some access to another computer but only partial, and I got hung up on something when trying to figure out where to take some parts of this.

Three small balls of fire flew through the air, each one making its impact in the center of a wooden target, quickly burning a hole through them no bigger around than a nickel straight through the bullseye before the flames ceased burning, leaving only the charred holes as evidence of their existence.

Edana jumped up and down excitedly. A full week of training and she had already become much more proficient with basic fire balls, due in no small part to how much easier to aim smaller flames are. Simple tricks like that were quickly accumulated by her observant coaches, who each gave her a hearty pat on the back.

"Nice work, Flame Princess!" Jake told her, stretching between her and Finn's legs, lifting them as he grew.

"Yeah, you're really kicking butt!" She felt her cheeks redden at Finn's praise. "Now we gotta figure out how to do some moving targets!"

Now that the training was over for the day, they broke the routine that they had built for themselves. Instead of heading home, Jake carried them to the Candy Kingdom. The ball was fast approaching, and Bubblegum had some preparations to finish.

As they made their way into the castle, Jake was drawn off from the group by Lady Rainicorn. Finn and Edana continued on to Bonnibel's bedroom, finding Marceline there as well, floating beside a small table. The room was dim, the curtains drawn to accommodate Marceline.

"Finn! Edana!" Bubblegum waved at them from her seat at the table. "I'm so happy you could make it! I'm so excited about the ball! It's going to be wonderful!" She gripped the table, her knuckles whitening. "so...WONDERFUL...no zombies...no black holes...just...good...old...fashioned...FUN." on the last word, as if in punctuation, she tore chunks out of the table as her fingers dug through the material. She breathed heavily through her clenched teeth.

Marceline placed her hand on Bubblegum's shoulder. "Easy, Bonnie. Easy. It's gonna be another failed event if you scare off the guest of honor." Bubblegum looked up at Marceline, as her breathing returned to normal. She put her hand on top of Marceline's smiling at her.

"Right, thanks Marcy..." At this, she took out a note pad, and motioned for Finn and Edana to take a seat across from her. "So, Edana, first order of business, what kind of food would you like to be served?" The flame princess took a moment to consider it.

"I suppose just...anything, really... I'm trying to expand my horizons..." Edana replied, twiddling her thumbs a bit. Bubblegum furrowed her brow, then scribbled on her note pad.

"Alright, any preferences for music?" Flame Princess blushed, then looked to Finn, smiling bashfully.

"I'd love some slow dances..." Finn blushed back at this, trying to force the blood from his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck through his awesome hat.

"Alright," Bubblegum made a note of that as well, "But that aside, is there anything else? Or anything more specific?"

"Again, and I know, I'm probably being difficult, but...I'm trying to try new things..."

"Don't worry about it. The party's for you, after all. Any games or activities?"

"I wouldn't know where to begin with anything like that..." Bubblegum, considering what she'd been told, finished her notes, and handed them to Finn.

"We've got one thing left to take care of, Finn, but it's sort of a girls only thing. Could you take this to Peppermint Butler while we handle it?" Finn saluted, accepting the note pad, and dashing out the door. Marceline floated over to the door and closed it, turning the deadbolt lock. Surrounded, locked in, and being given disconcerting grins from two older girls, the Flame Princess suddenly felt very, very nervous.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked, trying to be as nonchalant as she could. Princess Bubblegum went to her closet, wheeling out a rack of dresses, a large smile on her face.

"We happen to know that you only have one formal gown, and that it's one Finn's already seen." Marceline said, suddenly right behind her. "Carefully gathering intelligence, we've managed to not only get your clothing sizes, but also what kind of fabric you like. Now the rest is up to you." She hovered up to the ceiling, turning over to face downward.

"Well, not entirely." Bubblegum added. "We want to help you pick out a dress that'll really knock Finn off his feet." Edana blushed, and stared at the clothing rack for a moment. Elegant flowing gowns, tight slinky dresses, and even a pinstripe suit were on the clothing rack, the last of them surely a contribution from the vampire queen.

She took a step closer to begin examining her options, before changing direction, and giving Bubblegum a tight hug. "Thank you for all of this..." She said, smiling. Then she stared up at Marceline, and motioned for her to bring it in. Rolling her eyes, she descended from the ceiling, accepting the Flame Princess's embrace.

Changing behind a screen, she tried on several of the dresses, and at Marceline's insistance, the suit as well. Just as it seemed that nothing on the rack would measure up to the group's collective standards when worn by the Flame Princess, she appeared from behind the screen, looking very giddy about her appearance.

"This one!" She announced, showing it off to the others.

"Perfect!" Bubblegum told her, clapping her hands.

"Totally hot." Marceline added, raising her thumb in approval. Flame Princess blushed at their words and quickly changed back to the shorts and t-shirt she'd worn to her training session.

Bubblegum poured them some tea, and they all took a seat at the table. "So, you gotten to third base yet?" Marceline asked, causing the others to spit their tea in shock at the bluntness of their friend. Edana mumbled and blushed, trying to formulate an answer.

"Ye..uh...no...wait... Fire Kingdom third base, or Candy Kingdom third base?" She asked, confused.

"Wait, isn't Fire Kingdom third base the same thing as a Candy Kingdom line drive?" Bubblegum added.

"No no, a lumpy space third base is a Candy Kingdom line...ugh. Ok, Edana, has he seen you without your shirt on?" The Flame Princess's cheeks began to smoke with embarrassment.

"Y-yes, but that's...not relevant...You remember when he told you about that attack? Th-the assassin?" They nodded in response. "Aside from my gown from the Fire Kingdom, my clothes are...flammable..." She mumbled the last word, hiding her mouth behind her tea cup.

Bubblegum stared at her for a moment, then turned to Marceline. "Seeing but not touching is a Breakfast Kingdom Suicide Squeeze, right? I don't know if it's anybody's third base..." As they continued to discuss baseball terms in regards to romantic endeavors, a thought was realized by Bonnibel.

"I just remembered, I had something I've been meaning to ask you!" She said just a bit too loud, causing the others to start. After a moment of awkward silence, Marceline spoke up.

"We just witnessed a badlands knuckle ball."

"Anyway..." Bubblegum cleared her throat, "I've been wondering...Your father used to be humanoid, like all of us, didn't he? When did he turn into a—AH!" she gave a startled yelp as the teacup in Edana's hands fell to the floor, shattering. She looked up at the Flame Princess to see her trembling, her eyes streaming sparks.

She had let her guard down, relaxing among friends, one of whom had brought to light a memory she had worked so hard to forget. It began playing over and over in her mind, first her anger building, then her power surging, then her father screaming. Again and again, she felt the memories clawing at her mind as she fell to her knees.

"Marceline, get Finn and Doctor Ice Cream!" Bubblegum shouted, rushing to Edana's side. The Vampire grabbed her umbrella near the door to protect herself from sunlight, then burst through the door with one swift motion, disappearing from sight. She tried to comfort Flame Princess, not sure how to help as she let out choked sobs. Rushing to her bed, she wrapped a blanket around Edana, and gently rubbed her back. After a moment, Finn rushed through the hole in the door, falling to his knees and power sliding to a halt in front of her.

"Edana!" he shouted, staring into her eyes. "Edana? Edana, come on, look at me...It's me, Finn...You're gonna be ok...Come on..." As he failed to elicit any reaction, he began to panic more and more. "Come on, Edana, please, say something..." the only sound she would make were choked sobs. Finn felt his heart breaking. Doctor Ice Cream spoke up, having been present for only a few seconds.

"I'm going to need you to step back, Finn." He produced a syringe from his coat pocket. "We need to take her under observation, and transporting her in her current state could be dangerous. I'll have to sedate her." Tears streamed down Finn's cheeks.

"No, I...I have to help her!" He replied. "Come on, Edana, say something...please...I love you..." He hugged her tightly.

"Finn, I need you to step back." Doctor Ice Cream's tone was somewhat harsher than usual.

"Go away! Let me help her!" Finn insisted, not noticing that Jake, Lady Rainicorn, Peppermint Butler, Princess Bubblegum, and Marceline were all staring at him. Dr. Ice Cream saw no alternative but to break down Finn's delusions. He had to ensure a patient's safety as quickly as possible.

"How? How are you going to help her? What good could you possibly do right now? You can't help here, Finn. I'll call you if I have a monster that needs punching, but for now, let me do my duty." Finn stared at him, tears flowing even more freely than before. He sat in silence as he watched the doctor sedate Edana, loading her onto a gurney and wheeling her to the medical wing of the castle.

All his friends could do nothing but stand and stare at Finn. What could they possibly say to him? He stood up, and walked past them, leaving the castle.

"Finn?" Jake called to him, his brother not slowing down or acknowledging him. "Finn, wait!" he chased him down and punched him in the face. "What the glob do you think you're doing?" Jake demanded.

"I'm leaving. I can't do anything to help. I'm useless." Jake punched him again. Lady Rainicorn attempted to pull him back, but Bubblegum stopped her.

"You know she's got issues, Finn. You can't help right now, but leaving's gonna make things worse! She's gonna need you there when she wakes up. Think about it, how scared and alone would she feel waking up in a hospital bed alone? How do you think she'd feel knowing that you didn't care enough to be waiting by her side for her to wake up? Now come on. We're going to the waiting room." Finn stared in disbelief at his brother, before he came to his senses.

"You're right..." He turned to everyone else present. "He's right. Come on. I think we should all be there for her." They nodded, following him to the waiting room.

Bubblegum sat next to Finn in the waiting room, a hand on his back. "I'm sorry, Finn... It's my fault for asking her..." Finn put his hand up.

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is we be here for her. She can make it through this, I know she can. But she won't if she thinks she doesn't have a reason." Bubblegum nodded, and gave Finn a hug, which he accepted with no resistance. She stared at his face in worry. He looked like he'd aged thirty years in five minutes.

"So..." Marceline spoke, desperate to try to break the silent tension. "You get to use her name?" She asked. Jake and Bubblegum glared at her. "What?"

Finn thought for a moment, then nodded. "She didn't want people to know yet, but I guess her telling me I can call her Edana getting out in the rumor mill is better than people thinking I did it without permission..." Every head in the room looked up as Doctor Ice Cream walked out among them.

"What?" He asked, unsure what to make of so many expectant stares.

"How is she, doctor?" Finn asked, a heavy weariness in his voice.

"Well, her vital signs are fine. Physically, there's nothing wrong with her. She's still out from the sedative though, so we won't know how she's doing until she wakes up. It will be a few hours though. If you want, you can all go about your business, and I'll call you when she's up." Some of them nodded, and walked out of the room. Jake put his hand on Finn's shoulder.

"I...I'm sorry for bustin' your face up." He said, hugging his brother.

"It's ok. I needed to get busted up." He stared at the dog for a moment. "You should go spend time with Lady. I'll be ok, man." Jake nodded, and turned to leave. They both knew the Rainicorn was only an excuse right now, and that they needed to give each other a little space, but neither would say so. The bond between the brothers was such that something that could have worried everyone present if mentioned went unspoken, and with no ill will on either part.

"Finn, if there's anything I can do..." Finn looked up into Bubblegum's beautiful eyes.

"Don't worry about me. You've got a ball to finish planning, right?" He gave a weak smile. Bubblegum hesitated, but gave a nod. "After this kind of thing, she's gonna need a party to cheer her up, I bet." Once again hesitating, Bubblegum went to work. The only ones left in the room were Finn, Marceline, and Doctor Ice Cream.

"Finn, even after the drugs wear off, we don't know how long she'll simply be asleep. It could be night by the time she's up."

"I'll wait as long as I have to." Finn replied. "And sorry I was so stubborn, Doc..."

"It's alright. I only wish I could've thought of a better way to get through to you."

"If you're gonna be here a while, you want me to pick anything up from the Tree Fort for you?" Marceline offered.

"Well, it wouldn't be good for anything here, but...A sword might make me feel a little less helpless... Other than that, I've got everything I think I'll need in my pack..."

"Family sword's over your bed, right?" Marceline asked, having watched Finn enough to know where he would be keeping it. She flew out of the room as he nodded.

"...Would you like to wait in her room?" The doctor offered.

"Yeah...Yeah, I would." The Doctor lead him to her room, and he sat down beside her bed.

All alone in the room, he had nothing to do or say. The only thing in his mind was how helpless he'd been, and how easily his resolve was broken. He failed her on two fronts, needing other people to pull him out of his despair. He felt like a disgrace to heroes everywhere. Marceline stopped by around a half hour into his wait, giving him his sword and an unsure hug in an attempt to raise his spirits before leaving. A full hour had gone by, and then another, and finally a third, as Finn sat, watching her. Four hours in, he heard the door open, a massive fiery figure in bronze armor sitting next to him.

"Finn..." The Flame King took a deep breath. "We need to talk."

"Yes, sir." He replied. Neither of them would take their eyes off of the sleeping form of the Flame Princess.

"I know she loves you. And I know you love her. I can't say I approve of her decision to let you use her name so early in your relationship, but she has given you permission." Finn furrowed his brow.

"Why does it even matter? It's just a name." His attempt to hold back the bitterness in his voice failed.

"Because it's who she is." The king replied. "This is why I don't approve. You have taken it for granted, not even understanding the significance. Giving you her name gives you her. You are unrestricted in how you behave around her, except by your own motives and morals. This is why only those we trust most are given our names." Finn stared at him for a moment, still not quite sure what this meant. "That said, even if you had not done so before hand...You've proved yourself worthy of her trust now...and what's good enough for my daughter is good enough for me."

"I'm sorry, but I still don't get it..."

"By giving you her name, she brought you into the family. You are not married yet, of course, and neither are you now part of our royal family, but the two of you are now completely equal through her own desires." Finn nodded, finally comprehending. "And since you're already part of our family...You may call me Aedus. I'd shake your hand, but I fear you would burn."

Finn smiled up at him, then looked back at Edana. "Bubblegum asked her about you before this happened..."

"Yes, I heard...I once had a material form, you know. I was not always a mystical flame in a suit of armor. It was my daughter's unrestrained power that reduced me to this." Finn felt uncomfortable, thinking he shouldn't be hearing this. As if sensing his emotions without looking at him, the Flame King spoke. "I would not share this with anyone but you. You are, hence forth, an honorary son to me, after all. Her power was so vast that she was able to burn into oblivion something which cannot be burned through a lapse in control. She blocked out the memory. She asked me why I was no longer a man, but fire in the shape of one. I made excuses. I couldn't bear to let her feel the guilt of doing this to me." Finn frowned, staring at him.

"I think you made the wrong call, Aedus." The Flame King jumped a bit, shocked at Finn's frankness. Moments earlier, the only sound in the room after this comment would have been Finn's screams of pain. "She's strong. VERY strong. She can handle a lot more than I think you give her credit for."

"Clearly not, as she broke down when she remembered it." Finn did not respond, simply glaring at Aedus, who finally sighed in defeat. "I know my daughter...and you are right. I'm sure it was just as jarring to know I hid what she had done from her as it was to know what she had done. She would think I was bitter about it..." Finn nodded, his expression fading from indignation to sympathy.

"You didn't want to hurt her. That makes sense. Nobody would want to hurt her." The king nodded.

"I still wish you would've told me..." Edana interjected groggily. "ugh...my head..." Finn shouted out the door to the doctor, seeing that she was awake. She rubbed her temples as he did so. "Please, quiet..."

"Sorry, Edana...How long were you awake?"

"Long enough to know that you have my father's name." She smiled at both of them, heavy bags under her eyes, and her headache making itself visible through her furrowed brow.

The doctor ushered the Finn and Aedus out of the room to inspect his patient. As they stood by awkwardly outside the room, the king smiled at Finn.

"Welcome to the family, Finn."

"Thanks, Aedus...I'd hug you, but that bronze armor looks like it would be really hot."

"I'd prefer you didn't hug me either way."


	6. Chapter 6

Note from the moment I started on this chapter: Today is the first day off work since my computer came back from the shop. Sorry for the wait!

"Come on, dude!" Jake loomed over Finn, his upper body following the boy through the house as his lower end sat on the couch. "Come on, dude! Come on, dude! Come on, dude!" Finn's resistance was beginning to wear down.

"It would be weird!" He protested, wishing that Edana were there to help get Jake off his case. Given the amount of time it would take both of them to properly get dressed for the ball, Princess Bubblegum had come to pick the Flame Princess up with the Morrow a few hours early, to give each of them privacy to prepare.

"Come on, dude!" Jake continued to pester him.

"Fine!" Finn pulled his hat off, and set it on the table. His golden hair shimmered as he ran his fingers through it. Realizing what a mess it was, he furiously tried to comb it down, but found it quite unwilling to comply.

"Nah, leave it messy, dude! It looks good messy!" Jake insisted, buttoning up his shirt before using his stretchy powers to easily put it on.

"You sure? I mean, I'm not used to looking fancy...aren't we supposed to go all out?"

"Finn, if this was about it being a fancy party, that wouldn't bother you. You'd be wearing your blue shorts instead of dressin' up in your Lord Hotbod suit. I know why you're dressin' up, and it's to look nice for your girlfriend. And you look better with messy hair!" Jake mussed his brother's hair, smiling widely. "It's you, y'know? Seeing you with your hair all neat would just be weird. Like...like..."

"Like seeing me without my hat?" Finn asked flatly. Jake smirked, finishing his own preparations.

"Yeah, except we don't know how she'd feel about a Finn with neat hair. We already know she likes seeing you without your hat, though. So, you showered, you brushed your teeth, is there anything else we gotta take care of?" Finn thought, then shook his head.

"We'll be a little early, but you wanna just head out now?" The dog shook his head at this question.

"Are you nuts, dude? I'm not wearing any pants." Jake told him, getting his rear end off the couch, walking it over to his upper body and shrinking his halves back to their proper proportions. "I'll be back in a second." He climbed up the ladder to their bedroom, as Finn stared at his own dull reflection in the window. He briefly considered combing his hair, or even cutting it, but soon realized Jake was right. A Finn with neat, finely combed hair would scarcely be a Finn at all. He attempted to straighten his bow tie, though it was already straight. His nerves were beginning to get to him, he realized, double checking to see if there was in fact anything he could adjust or straighten. He relaxed a little when, somewhere, in the back of his mind, he realized he looked damn good in the suit, but he still felt anxious. He was stirred from his thoughts when he heard his brother calling to him.

"Finn, I can't get my tail through the tail hole! Will you help me?" Jake whined from their bedroom. Finn rolled his eyes, and shouted back to his brother.

"Why don't you just stretch your tail through it and then pull the pants up?" He asked, knowing he was suggesting the exact same method Jake used the last time he wore his fancy outfit. Jake went quiet, and a few minutes later he came back downstairs, fully dressed.

"You ready to go?" Finn asked, grinning despite his nerves. Jake nodded, and soon they were on their way. The trek across the grasslands would take a bit longer than it would if Jake could expand as far as he normally would, but his clothes were only able to to stretch so far without tearing. In about twenty minutes, they arrived. Guests and friends slowly trickled in early, none of those who were invited to attend wanting to miss the reveal of the guest of honor. Finn mingled into the crowds, taking mental stock of those in attendance, as Jake sought out Lady Rainicorn.

He wandered about the ballroom, greeting friends and acquaintances, feeling very eager to get the party started, which would put a lot of the attention his hair was getting on Flame Princess instead. After spending nearly a half hour of admitting that, yes, he did have hair his whole life, the actual start of the ball arrived with its main event.

"Relax, Edana. It will all be fine." Bubblegum told her, standing behind the door with her. "Trust me, you look beautiful, you're kind to those you encounter, and you've got a curious sense about the world around you. With all that going for you, I don't think there's a soul in this castle that won't be wrapped around your finger before the night's over!" Edana blushed heavily, glowing as well, as she stepped out into the ballroom.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Manfred announced from the ceiling, "It is my honor to introduce to you, Her Royal Highness, the Princess of the Fire kingdom!" Everyone went silent, turning to the archway in which she stood, surrounded by a massive wreath of flowers. Seeing her outfit, Finn's jaw dropped. It was a shimmering sky blue gown, with a strangely asymmetrical cut, the right side of her skirt reaching her ankle while the left was only down to her knee, with a full sleeve and half a collar on her left, and no shoulder on her right. The whole thing gave the appearance of a big diagonal strip of cloth that had somehow wrapped itself around her, leaving half her leg, a corner of her chest, and a full arm bare. The eye-catching asymmetry was only enhanced by the sharp contrast of orange against blue, but there was one thing that wasn't even planned contributing to the beauty that had frozen everyone in place. Finn knew someone had just paid her an especially large compliment, for a fuzzy silhouette was visible under the fabric of the gown, her whole body glowing brightly, giving a fair portion of the dress a vibrant green tint.

The princess looked around at all the smiling faces, waiting expectantly for her to say something. She took a deep breath and steadied her nerves, a soft smile forced onto her face. "I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to come here. I know that this night may not last long enough for me to get to know everyone here as well as I'd like, but I hope that, as I travel Ooo, I will have more chances to talk to those of you whom I do not manage to make time for tonight. I am humbled by this magnificent turn out, and I hope that we will all be great friends." To punctuate her short speech, she gave a deep bow to the crowd, who began clapping heavily. Her eyes welled up with sparks at their overwhelming response. "Thank you...Thank you all!" She told them, beginning to lose her grip on her emotions. "Now, without further ado, let's get this party started!" The lights dimmed a bit, and Marceline appeared in a burst of smoke above the party, thrashing on her ax bass, giving the Flame Princess a bit of a distraction as she waded into the crowd. Many eyes were still focused on her, and she gathered quite a few names and cheerful welcomes as people introduced themselves to her.

After a while, musical responsibilities had changed hands from Marceline to the royal musicians, as the vampire queen mingled into the crowd. Knowing that Marceline was only to play the one song before this trade off, Edana realized just how slowly the introductions were passing. It had only been a few minutes, but she felt incredibly worn down already, if only due to the effort of keeping names to faces. Physically, she felt fine, but the stress of being the center of attention was beginning to affect her. Feeling a hand on her bare shoulder, she turned around to see a familiar smiling face, and smiled back at it. Finn nodded toward an approaching figure, directing Edana's attention. Her mental fatigue felt as if it were washed away by his presence.

"It's so good to see you are out of your kingdom, Edana." Engagement ring princess told her, before noticing Finn's physical contact with her, and giggling to herself.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Catriona... Wait, why are you laughing like that?"

"Oh, no reason..." She moved with an unnatural grace to Finn's side and whispered something into his ear, causing him to blush, before stepping back, seeming to glide over the floor. "Well, you've got a lot of people left who want to say hi to you, so I'd best back off...bye, you two..." She moved into the crowd and disappeared from view. Edana turned to speak to Finn, but found herself without the opportunity as another person approached. She steeled her nerves, heeding Finn's warning, as the princess of Lumpy Space addressed her.

After Lumpy Space Princess, another guest came to her, and then another. By the time the tide of well-wishers had died down, the party had already technically ended, and Edana realized she hadn't had a chance to enjoy any of it. Finn stood dutifully beside her the entire time, and she felt very thankful that he hadn't decided to partake of the festivities, but she had been desperately hoping to enjoy the party with him. With the time for the ball to end upon them, the few guests remaining seemed to accept that they wouldn't get to meet the Flame Princess this evening, and exited the ball room, until the royal staff, the musicians, Jake, Finn, Bonnibel, Marceline, and Edana herself remained. Finn led her to a small table, and pulled out a chair for her, which she heavily slumped into, exhausted. Everyone, the staff included, moved toward her, frowning a bit. They had all been paying attention to the guest who was the center of it, and none of them felt particularly satisfied with how the party had gone.

"I'm sorry, Edana, I really thought you'd have at least a moment to enjoy yourself...Maybe I shouldn't have invited so many people..." Bubblegum thought out loud, feeling as if it were her fault, and, perhaps, as if another of her social events had been ruined, at least in part.

"It's alright...it was a bit more than I was expecting, but it was a nice experience...I mean, I do wish I could've at least gotten one dance in... maybe had some of the food...oh!" She looked over to Finn, a look of regret on her face. "You didn't really get to party either, did you?" Suddenly she felt guilty about his looking after her, instead of grateful. "I mean, I was happy you were there with me the whole time, but-"

"That's enough for me." He said, cutting her off. "Don't get me wrong, I'm hungry, and I wanted to dance, and stuff...but more than that, I wanted to spend the party with you."

"Why is everyone talking like the party's over?" Marceline asked, smirking.

"Marceline," Bubblegum answered, "it's one thirty in the morning. The party was supposed to end a half hour ago. Besides, the band and the servants need their rest. They've been working all night."

Marceline looked at the faces around her, still smiling. "What do you guys say?" She asked the servants, as well as the musicians. "You feel up to giving Sparky here a smaller, shorter party so she can actually have some fun?" Bubblegum and Edana were both surprised by the enthusiastic cheering, as candy people returned to their stations.

"I'm really very grateful that you would do this for me, but you don't need to..." The heads of catering and cleaning spoke to eachother, and then to their subordinates, each group being cut down by half as their most tired members left.

"In that case," The caterer told her, "You can serve yourself, and we'll just clean up when you're done." She felt herself blushing at their willingness to continue despite having to set up the entire party, performing their duties even after the six hours the ball was meant to last for came to a close. She heard a loud strum of bass strings, causing her to turn around, startled, to see Marceline on the stage.

"Come on, Edana, at least have one slow dance." The vampire queen ordered, the rest of the musicians preparing their instruments. Edana was at a loss. Everyone was jumping to please her, and she barely had a chance to decline. She looked around the room at the faces smiling at her. Jake and Lady grinned from the corner, lazing against the walls, tired from dancing all night. Bonnibel had already made a move to the buffet, and was calling out to her, asking if she wanted anything, and Finn just blushed as he smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't think they're gonna let us go home if we don't have some fun..." He said, a sense of resignation in his voice, though his smile showed he was more eager than he pretended to be. "So, um..." He cleared his throat, turning at her, and offering her a hand. "May I have this dance?" She blushed, glowing a bit, and smiled back at him as she took his hand, nodding. The band began to play as they moved closer to the stage.

Finn held her hand, and, with mild apprehension, placed his free hand on her hip, as she placed hers on his shoulder. She moved in a bit closer than normal, and he was happy to slow down his dancing to ensure that they didn't fall over each other, the band even slowing the tempo of their song to match the dancers. She sighed, leaning her cheek on his chest. Thinking back to the night, from the moment when everyone applauded her, and hung on her every word, to everyone feeling as if they simply had to have at least a moment of her attention, she realized that, throughout the whole of the night, she had not felt more loved than she did in this moment, in the arms of the boy who loved her, with friends around, all doing their best to make what little remained of the night the best they could. She slipped her fingers out of his, trailing them up the length of his arm, and draping both arms around his neck, sighing happily as he put his arms around her waist.

"I love you, Finn..." She whispered to him, the song slowly approaching its close. She felt his cheek resting on the top of her head, still dancing with her, even with the lack of music.

"I love you too, Edana...and I always will..." She sighed, tilting her her head upward, meeting his gentle gaze. As if each knew the other's intention, their lips met and they kissed deeply, holding eachother tightly. A kiss that lasted more than a minute, but it felt as if it was over in an instant. They quickly realized that everyone was staring at them, and backed away from each other, their faces flushed with both excitement and embarrassment.

"You wanna grab some food?" Finn asked, trying to ignore the onlookers. The princess nodded, following him to the buffet table, where they eagerly stuffed their faces. By the time they had finished, the band had packed up their instruments, and Jake and Lady Rainicorn had retired to Lady's quarters.

"Guess we missed our ride back..." Edana frowned, her feet killing her for having been on them for so long. Looking to Finn, she saw he wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the idea of walking home so late either. Before either could get another word out, they were each lifted into the air by the vampire queen. They waved goodbye to their tired hostess as the vampire queen morphed into a gigantic bat beast, her massive, leathery wings blocking the light of the moon. The kids tried to hold a conversation, but found it difficult with the chill wind howling in their ears.

"Now, you kids have a good night. And don't do anything I wouldn't do." Marceline told them, fully knowing that this in no way would restrict their activities, before flying off into the night. The couple went up to their bed room, Finn going to shower off after a long day of standing in a crowd in a stuffy suit, as the Flame Princess, who had never been concerned by the troubles of those who produce sweat, simply changed into her pajamas. Soon Finn joined her, wearing pajamas as well, sitting on his bed.

"You're still not wearing your hat?" She asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Nah, it's downstairs, and we've had a really big day...I don't feel like going to get it..." Edana nodded as they each climbed under the covers.

"So...what did the Engagement Ring Princess have to say?" She asked, looking over at him.

"She, uh..." Finn blushed, feeling flustered. "Well, she offered to provide services. Regarding what she is the princess of. When the time comes." He told her quietly, part of him hoping she wouldn't hear, and that she would succumb to sleep before asking him to repeat himself.

"You don't need to feel embarrassed about it, Finn..." She stifled a mighty yawn before continuing, "We've still got a long way to go before we're ready to think about that stuff..." Finn nodded, smiling softly at her. He turned out the light and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Edana...I love you..."

"I love you too, Finn..." She answered, her soft glow warming the room. After a moment's hesitation, she stood. Finn's eyes opened as he felt her climbing under the pelts on his bed. She stared at him, blushing heavily, a look of worry on her face. "Just for tonight?"

"You don't even need to ask." He replied, pulling her in close to him, wrapping his arms around her.

"J-just to be clear, we're not going to...y'know...I mean, I hope I didn't mislead you but..." She felt his finger on her lips.

"I know." He told her, kissing her forehead and holding her tightly as they drifted off to sleep. Once more Finn dreamed of the nebulous voice.

"Courage and tenacity, boy..." This time, Finn found himself able to respond to the creature.

"Wait!" He was startled by his ability to speak, something he couldn't do in the previous dream of this creature.

"Yes?" It asked, its shapeless body swirling before the human.

"What...What is the key?"

"The truth of the key will only be seen when the time has come to use it. You will find it soon, in the water world."

"If I don't know what it is," Finn asked, "How will I know to bring it with me?" The void chuckled at him.

"Courage and tenacity, boy...courage and tenacity will see you through." Finn woke up before he had a chance to object to this odd riddle. Everything was dark and silent in the tree fort, save for the gentle glow of his love. It wasn't long before memories of his odd dream had faded away. All he was sure of was that he had had a strange dream. Whether it had any true significance would remain to be seen.


	7. Chapter 7

Finn and the Flame Princess sat at the table, eating the meager breakfast that the human boy had managed to prepare. Despite the princess' eager consumption, Finn still felt humiliated about his lack of culinary prowess, only having been able to make a piece of toast, a bowl of cereal, and a glass of juice for each of them.

The young couple occasionally exchanged glances and brief smiles, each still wearing only their pajamas on this lazy late morning, though Finn had taken the time to don his hat. Edana was the first to finish her food, and daintily dabbed her lips with a napkin, clearing away crumbs, milk and juice.

"That was delicious." She told him, smiling. Finn nodded, feeling like she was giving the meal praise out of pity, but decided to just push his worries about it aside.

"What do you want to do today?" He asked before putting his bowl to his lips, drinking the milk and swallowing down the last few pieces of cereal.

"To be honest, I'd like to have a day to just stay home...I wasn't able to get as much rest as I would've liked after my..." she paused, trying to think of a less extreme wording, but had trouble finding any. "After my breakdown. And last night was exhausting as well. Would that be alright?" Finn nodded, smiling. Once the dishes were washed, they went to the bed room and each changed into their clothes for the day, Finn wearing his usual attire, and Flame Princess in a breezy yellow sundress.

Finn paused, looking her over, a soft smile on his face. "You look lovely, Edana." She blushed a bit, and gave him a quick hug. "So, is there anything you want to do? Play Beemo? Watch some movies? Maybe just hang out outside and talk?"

"That last one sounds good." She told him, climbing down the ladder to the living room, Finn following behind her. After the ladder to the treasure room, they stepped outside, and moved into the sunlight, sitting down with their backs against the trunk of the tree fort, basking silently in the sunlight. While they both enjoyed simply being near the other, they still each felt that it was a bit too quiet. Finn was the first to speak up, having decided that a certain topic would be good to approach regardless of the situation.

"So, what did you think of everyone you met last night?" He asked, staring up at the large clouds floating over head.

"Well, as you had warned me, the princess of Lumpy Space was very..." She paused, knowing that Lumpy Space Princess was a friend of Finn's, trying to find a suitable word that would be less offensive than the ones she originally had planned to use. "Abrasive," she settled on, frowning a bit at the memory of their encounter. Finn nodded, frowning a bit as well.

"That might be the best way to describe her. I mean, I'm not even positive it means what I think it does. But what about everyone else?" His smile grew very large as he eagerly awaited her assessment of his friends.

"Well," she began, turning her gaze back to the clouds, "Some of them I had met before, when my father would bring me with him to the grand meetings of Ooo Royalty. This was before my powers developed to a point at which they were unmanageable of course. Everyone seemed very friendly, though I have to say, the ambassador of the Goblin Kingdom seemed quite apprehensive around me..." She trailed off, curious about the dignitary's reaction to her presence. Finn froze, not sure if it would be appropriate to tell her at this point.

"Well, you...Um, that is, the night we met...when you said you wanted to create your OWN Fire Kingdom..." Edana's eyes went wide with realization.

"By Glob!" She gasped, blushing with embarrassment, and frowning with remorse. "That was the Goblin Kingdom?" Finn nodded in response, and she went quiet, bringing her legs up and hugging her knees to her chest. The boy thought to make a move that might cheer her up, decided that perhaps this was something she would have to deal with on her own, and that the best he could do was be there for her. After nearly an hour of silence sitting against the tree as the sky began to cloud over, she finally spoke to him again.

"Finn?"

"Yeah?" he asked, a bit startled that she'd finally said something.

"Tomorrow...I would like to visit the Goblin Kingdom. I wish to offer my apologies, and beg their forgiveness..." Finn nodded, and, despite the somber tone the day had begun to take, he couldn't help smiling.

"I gotta say...it takes guts to go to people and apologize over stuff that big...I...it feels weird to say this, but...I'm proud of you." She smiled, scooting in closer to him, leaning her head on his chest as he put his arm over her shoulder.

"That means more to me than you realize..." She told him quietly, listening to his heartbeat. After a few moments longer, it began to sprinkle lightly, the rain chilled and icy, some of it starting to freeze where it landed. The rain quickly picked up, falling much faster than they could have anticipated as they ran to the door, and both were sopping wet by the time they got inside.

"Sheesh, that came out of nowhere!" Finn noted, removing his hat to wring the water out of it. The Flame Princess nodded, shivering and watching out the window of the front door in wonder. She'd seen rain a few times in her time outside the fire kingdom, but never had it been so fierce or sudden. They were both shivering by the time they made it up to the living room, Beemo shivering as well, almost certainly mimicking them to try and understand why they were doing it. Finn handed her a towel, and, standing by the ladder, asked her to throw him down a dry change of clothes. Once he had changed, yelled up to the room to ask her if she had already gotten dressed, and, once he confirmed she was in a clothed state, he went up the ladder to find her shivering on her bed, completely covered by her blanket.

"Are you alright?" He asked, putting a hand on what he hoped was her shoulder.

"Y-yes, j-just s-s-so c-c-c-c-cold..." She stuttered. Finn lifted the blanket slowly, and climbed under it with her, holding her close to him. "F-Finn?" She asked, his body feeling just as chilled as hers.

"The fastest way to warm up is to share heat with each other. My dad taught us all that so we could have a better chance of surviving if we got caught in a storm like this, or lost in the Ice Kingdom, or something. It works better without clothes on, but...this isn't really a life or death thing, and...y'know..." He went quiet as his face turned beet red, still clinging her against him. She began blushing as well, though she was unable to glow due to her lowered body temperature. For a while they simply laid in silence, each fearing that, with their minds wandering as they were, they would let something indecent slip out.

"Thank you, Finn..." She spoke just barely above a whisper, and only after she had stopped shivering enough to speak clearly. "Thank you for sharing your warmth with me..." She looked up at him, her cheeks bright red. Somehow this felt so much less innocent than the previous night, and she found herself much more tempted. She rolled over, pressing her back against him as he held her in his arms, sighing.

"Why'd you roll over?" He asked, his voice filled with genuine confusion and not disappointment.

"My...My arm fell asleep..." She lied, thankful that he could not see her face. "What're you thinking about?" She asked, not sure whether she should feel excitement or dread over the answer she expected.

"My parents." He told her, his voice almost too sincere and frank about it. "I started thinking about them when I remembered dad's tip for surviving the cold."

"What...what about them are you thinking about?" Edana asked him. She would not have dared to do so if he did not seem so comfortable talking about it.

"Honestly?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"How much they would've liked you. How much you would've liked them. How great it would've been if you guys could have met each other." As he spoke, his voice became wistful and uncertain. "I do still have some family, though..." He said.

"Well, I think Jake already likes me..." And then she suddenly realized she wasn't quite sure about that. "Um, you think so too, right?"

"What? Yeah! Jake totally likes you! He was even...um..."

"What?"

"Nevermind." Finn said, embarrassed.

"Come on, please tell me?" She asked, rolling back over to face him. Finn sighed, defeated.

"He was talking about how much he's looking forward to being your bro in law someday. He brought it up yesterday, a little after you left to get ready." Edana blushed, smiling and glowing a bit.

"Really?" She asked, staring into his eyes.

"Yeah, but like you said last night, we've got a long way to go before we're even thinking about that..." He told her, worried that she had changed her stance on the issue.

"Well, of course. I'm just happy he feels that way about me." She glowed a tiny bit brighter, smiling widely.

"Anyway, I was talking about Jermaine... He's my other brother." Finn told her, getting back on track. "He lives in our parents' old house. He's not a big adventurer though."

"I see. And what does he do for a living?" Edana asked, curious about what sort of amazing stories Finn's other brother would be able to share with her.

"He's an accountant." Finn answered flatly. "He helps people manage their money." He told her as he saw the confusion on his beloved's face.

"Oh, I know what an accountant is...it just seems an odd job for someone who came out of the same home as you and Jake."

"Yeah," Finn replied, "I guess it does. But that's what mom was. Dad hired her to help him figure out what to do with all his treasure. That was how they met."

Edana smiled at him, and gave him a quick kiss. The stress had melted off of them both thanks to the conversation they had been having. Soon both fell asleep, taking a quick nap together. When they awoke, they decided to call Beemo up to the room. The computer took a seat at the foot of the princess's bed, and they started the afternoon with a movie. Before long, they had to pause the film, as Finn answered the phone, and learned that Jake would be waiting out the storm in Bubblegum's palace.

"Looks like it's just us. Maybe for the night, if the rain lasts that long." Finn said, returning to the princess's side. She quickly snuggled in against him, the freezing rain at this point causing a chill through the tree fort.

"Well, at least we know he'll be safe." She said, smiling. "I'd be worried if you told me he was on his way right now." Finn nodded, smiling back, gently stroking her hair. They both jumped as a flash of light lit up the room, and quickly turned to find Beemo staring at them, a picture having just finished printing into its hands.

"What?" The machine asked innocently, holding the picture behind its back.

"Can I see it?" Finn asked, smiling a bit. Beemo hesitated, but decided to trust Finn with the picture. The young hero admired the picture, and showed it to his beloved.

"That's amazing..." She noted, having not encountered photography prior to this point. She stared at it for several minutes before realizing that she had done so, and handing it back to Beemo.

"You're really cute." Finn told her, smiling. She looked to him, questioningly, unsure of what to make of this statement. Seeing the inquisitive look in her eyes, he decided to clarify. "You got that sense of wonder about you, and you're so curious about the world, and it makes me really glad that I can be the one to show it to you." He gently wrapped his arms around her, smiling as he felt her returning the embrace.

"I'm glad that you're the one showing me the world, too, Finn...and not just because you make me feel safe or happy..." She took a deep breath, looking at her hands. This had been a long time coming, and she didn't want to screw it up. "You were the only person to refuse to believe I was a monster. Even if daddy didn't believe it, he accepted it, and the danger I posed to my own people... And not only did you see me as someone you were willing to suffer to get to, but someone that you would be willing to work tirelessly to help get around her problems... problems that had caused everyone else in her life to write her off as a lost cause...You acted like I was worth something...like I was good for more than destruction...and, because of you, for the first time since I was just a flicker, I believed it. I love you, Finn, and I know you know it...but what I haven't told you is..." She blushed, very flustered, and a little embarrassed, before finally forming the words. "You're my hero..."

Finn stared at her, a bit taken aback by her words. After a few moments, he realized that he could see her breath, the rain still falling, and freezing wherever it landed. He wordlessly pulled her into a tight embrace, simply holding the girl he loved. After a moment of trying to find the right words, he decided to simply tell her all he could manage to think. "That means more, coming from you, than it could from anyone else in Ooo..." He gently lifted her up, carrying her, his sleeping bag, and a few blankets down to the kitchen. With a little help from the princess, he ignited the wood stove, with plenty of wood inside of it, as they sat near Beemo, the princess in her hero's sleeping bag, and the boy wrapped in pelts and quilts. As the day flew past, they switched from movies to video games and back again. The storm continued long into the night, as they fell asleep, curled up together in front of the warmth of the stove.

Morning came, but with it, no end to the storm. Finn stared out the window, frowning. He couldn't make out anything through the thick layer of ice on the other side. The sound was the only clue, but it was the only one necessary.

"Flapnaps...It's awful out there..." He returned to his seat at the table, finishing off his breakfast. Edana stood from her seat, heading towards the ladder.

"Let's hope it improves quickly then." She said, a strangely rigid tone to her voice. She came down fully dressed, and wearing Finn's yellow sweater. "You do not mind if I borrow this again, do you?" She asked, smiling a bit as he shook his head. He finished his food and went to get dressed as well.

"You'll need your sweater." She warned, climbing down the ladder to the treasure hoard. Finn put it on and climbed down after her, confused.

"What's going on?" He asked, completely lost.

"We are going to the Goblin Kingdom to apologize today, remember?" Finn took a sharp breath at this.

"Look, I was willing to take you there before, when there was no freezing rain, but now you won't be able to use your powers if things get ugly." The princess blinked at this silently. Finn continued, "I can protect you, but not from a whole city, and especially not after walking in that..."

"Finn, I am going to confess my crime, turn myself in, apologize for what I've done, and accept my punishment. If I must repay them a pound of flesh, let it come from my body. I must make amends." Finn stared at her, flabbergasted.

"That's bonkers!" He shouted, freaking out a little bit.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to, but I would really feel better with the company..." She opened the door and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. She got around 20 yards, walking at a casual pace, before she heard Finn shouting for her. Shielding her face and struggling to get a view, she saw him running towards her.

"I'm gonna get you to see the goblin king." He told her, wearing a scarf that covered the lower half of his face, and pulling his hat over her head. He drew the family sword, smiling a bit. "You're gonna be tried in a legal court, not just lynched on the street." She smiled widely, sparks welling up in her eyes as she clung to Finn. The cold wetness falling on her made her feel incredibly weak, and she could see that it was getting to her beloved champion as well. Focusing her powers on a warm heat, she struggled to keep moving, and to keep both of their body temperatures up. Finn shielded her from as much of the rain as he could as they trudged over the crunchy ice coating the ground. Finally, soaking wet, chilled to the bone, and about to collapse, they found themselves outside the gate of the Goblin Kingdom.


	8. Chapter 8

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS: Apparently I have to actually hear from you now. I'm not going to respond to you though, and I'm not going to answer your questions, unless you give me a way to do it. Someone has been anonymously badgering me daily to put up the next chapter. This is a hobby for me. Nothing more. I don't have any responsibility to continue this fic. And if there's one thing that REALLY rubs me the wrong way, it's being made to feel like I HAVE to do something by someone who is neither myself, nor paying me money to do something. I hope you understand that for every one of these, while I love this story and greatly enjoy writing it, I feel less like working on it. In other words, you're slowing me down when you pester me for the next chapter. So KNOCK IT OFF please.

People bugging me aside, I've had some snags in my actual life to take care of.

And now, something to separate my angry rant from the fic proper.

-_()_-

The wall was decimated. The gate was wide open, no longer able to be closed. Guards stumbled in surprise as they saw the young couple arrive.

"Halt!" One shouted unsteadily, his spear leveled at them.

"We wish to have an audience with your king..." Edana told him, coughing a bit. The guards panicked at this request.

"The fire monster has returned with an assassin to kill King Finn!" One shouted.

"We won't let you kill our king! His passivity has granted us self confidence!" Another declared.

"We don't..." Finn coughed and hacked, pulling the scarf down off of his face. "We don't want to kill anyone...But if you try to hurt her..." His trembling hand went to his sword.

"We submit ourselves as prisoners." Edana said with deep conviction despite her weakness. "But we will only answer to your king." After a while of discussing this, their hands were clapped in irons, and they were lead to the throne room, where the king sat on his throne, and the royal chief of staff sat at his side. Gummy the goblin climbed onto the king's lap, and put his ear to the king's mouth.

"The king wishes to speak privately to these criminals, through me." He announced. The guards turned and left, trusting the king and his adviser to be able to handle two sickly children.

"Hey, Gummy." Finn said, pulling off the scarf. The goblin removed the restraints from the both of them.

"Hello, King Finn." Gummy replied.

"Wait...I thought there was another Finn...You're the king of the goblin people?" Edana asked, shocked.

"Not exactly...I was once...For about two days..." He said, as Gummy removed the box from the head of the creature on the throne—some sort of mechanical man-and smiled.

"Whisper Dan has played King Finn's body double for quite some time." He noted with a grin. "Thanks to his silence we have grown stronger and more confident in ourselves, though due to his presence, we have a sense of restraint. We do not let things get out of control for fear that we may push his temper too far."

"But...If you know he's not Finn, then why do you still obey him?" She asked, looking to Gummy for answers.

"Because we need a king! Without one, our base instincts take over and we become violent and unfocused. Knowing king Finn's strength, the others would not dream of stepping out of line, but King Dan is much more even-tempered and better at following the royal rules. So, your Highness, King Finn, what brings you to your second home?"

"Remember the big fire and the attack on the kingdom a while back?" Finn asked casually, as if it were not even big enough to be worth making a big deal out of.

"Of course. We are still rebuilding." Gummy answered.

"This is my girlfriend, the princess of the Fire Kingdom."

"Truly! The one our ambassador met at the ball in the Candy Kingdom? But isn't she the one who burned our kingdom and decimated our wall?"

"I am. And I have come here seeking to have retribution taken against me for my misdeeds. Now, though, I am not entirely sure how to handle the situation, seeing as you have two kings, one who does not speak, and one who is in love with me..." She stared at the floor, deep in thought.

"If I may make a suggestion, your majesties?" Gummy said with a worried frown. He took them each by the hand and lead them to a guest chamber. "I would like to ask that you aid us in the coming war." He said, as he brought them hot towels and fresh robes to change into, worried by their shivering bodies and pale faces.

"What war?" Finn asked, accepting a cup of hot cocoa from one of the kingdom's chefs.

"Hey, aren't you King Finn?" The chef asked, puzzled.

"Uh, no, I, um...I'm his cousin!...uh...Pen!" He announced, nervously.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry." He replied, handing hot cocoa to the Flame Princess as well. He scurried out of the room as Gummy resumed talking.

"We have not yet been able to repair the city wall, as you may have seen on the way in." He told them, frowning. "It seems word of this has spread to the deposed king of the goblin people, and he has amassed an army while our defenses are breached. They have made camp for the duration of the storm, according to our scouts, but they are a much larger force than the last invasion. In fact, there are more than just Earclopses this time, and what Earclopse battalions he has all have earplugs. Please, take your time to regain your strength...but I beg you, when you are revitalized and the storm has ended, protect the new found freedom of the goblin people..."

"Of course." Edana said, smiling. "Of course I will help. I am just glad I have found a way to help you in return for the damage I've caused, instead of simply accepting a punishment." She finished, smiling at Finn, her color starting to return to her cheeks. He smiled back, though his pallor had not returned to normal yet.

"I'll help too." He told Gummy.

"Wonderful! Then I'll leave you two to get some rest. And, King Finn?"

"Yes?"

"You might want to call Queen Jake...Their forces are...Well...staggering..." Gummy closed the door, the confidence gone from his face.

Finn frowned, moving behind a dressing curtain and changing out of his soaked clothes, toweling off. He hung his clothes in front of the fireplace as Edana changed into the robe they'd given her, Finn having just changed into his. They climbed into bed, and the princess poured energy into the fire, causing the flame to grow brighter and higher in the chimney. As she did, she also poured more heat out of herself, warming both of their bodies, under the blanket on the guest bed. Their worries of prosecution and punishment were over, and they could finally relax and rest after their hard-fought journey to the goblin kingdom.

Finn could not sleep, however. Even with her powers, a huge battlefield would be chaotic. Thoughts ran through his head of what might happen to his beloved if even one enemy got in a lucky shot. She had only been in one fight, and it was against a single enemy, so of course she wasn't as aware of the danger to either of them.

After hours of waiting, despite his worry, he soon drifted off to sleep.

"Courage and tenacity, boy." The eerie voice told him in his sleep. "Courage and tenacity."

"Can I ask you some questions?" He replied calmly.

"Huh? Oh, uh...Sure."

"What's your name?" Finn asked the voice, which went silent for a while before breaking out into sobs. "What's wrong?"

"I...I've been doin' this job for two centuries, kid! Two centuries of giving cryptic clues and vague advice, helping heroes out...But you're the first person to even care enough to ask my name! Oh Glob...I'm sorry, that just...that means a lot to me, Finn...You can call me Paul..." He took some time to compose himself, before speaking again. "So, uh...Next question?"

"Have I found the key yet?"

"You have. You'll know it when it's time to use it...Anything else?"

"Just...I just wanted to say thanks. For helping me, I mean." At this, the voice began crying again, once more tears of happiness that he was finally appreciated.

"Well, you're..." He sniffed loudly, "You're very welcome...Excuse me, I can't do any more right now...I...I think I need some time alone...I'm gonna put you back on regular dreams, ok?"

"Yeah, alright." Finn replied, his dream scape shifting to reveal a giant Beemo with Jake's face. "Dreams are weird." He mumbled, settling in for a long evening.


	9. Chapter 9

Dedicated to Bob Churchich, loving grandfather.

Special thanks to my friend for coming up with tartantucats and inspiring the idea of rattlefrogs. Also helping her out with the latest few chapters so far of her Akham City fanfic on Deviant Art. Her account, where Arkham City Days can be found, is Freddykreuger4eva.

To reiterate, I will not approve any guest reviews. If reviewing is important to you, you should get an account here! On the other hand, if you just have something you want to say to me but not an FF dot net account, my e-mail is on my profile, as are my instant messenger names. I'm happy to talk to people. I just hate it when I can't reply directly to them because they don't have a return address on their reviews.

Finn woke up early the next morning, finding his beloved not where he had seen her last. Instead of sleeping peacefully in his arms, she stood by the mirror, staring into it. There was something sad about how she was standing, but her face was firm with determination. When she saw Finn coming up behind her in the mirror, her hardened facade broke. She turned, smiling tenderly at him.

"Good morning!" She cheerfully threw her arms around his neck.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, hugging back. Her smile fell away as she considered the question.

"I was...I was just thinking about...well, something that could help a lot in the upcoming fight...but...I'm hesitant..." She told him, pulling away and staring at the ground. Just as Finn was about to ask her what idea she had in mind, he noticed her fingertips idly brushing over the ring she wore. "Will you still love me when the fighting is over?" She asked, her eyes beginning to glow as sparks welled up inside them. He pulled her back into his arms.

"I'll always love you, Edana. But you don't have to do that. We're gonna make it through this." He moved back a bit as he saw the door open. Gummy entered along with Jake and Marceline.

"Marceline?" Finn asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I got bored, I saw Jake following a goblin, so, I followed Jake while he followed the goblin."

"Is that what you were doin'?" Jake pondered for a moment. "If you're bored enough for that, you wanna help us win a war?" Marceline rolled her eyes.

"War is but one means through which the transient borders of mortal realms are changed. Such things are beneath me, and as a whole inconsequential to my immortal existence. Plus, I try to stay out of politics. Don't have many other Vampires around that I can rally to the cause, y'know?" Edana knelt before her. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Please, Queen of Vampires, I beseech thee, aid us in this time of need." Everyone else joined the Flame Princess in kneeling. Marceline crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but I'm not getting my people involved in this. I mean, I can't even stand them. They're a bunch of jerks. So, if you've got something for me to do that doesn't have to do with throwing some vampire soldiers into the mix-"

"Reconnaissance!" Gummy interrupted. "They're still a few days' march from the city. Our scouts have only ventured near enough to survey them through a spyglass, but surely you, m'lady, under cover of darkness, would be able to infiltrate and appraise their forces!"

"Ugh. That's boring!" She frowned. Finn thought for a moment.

"You could...scare them all a bunch when you're done?" He offered.

"...Yeah, ok. Shake up their confidence, make 'em panic. Good call, Finn." Finn smiled, even though he hadn't thought of the psychological advantage.

"By the way, Marceline, can you call me Pen in front of the other goblins? I'm pretending to be someone else because I don't like being their king. They don't let me do anything."

"Sure. No problem." Marceline stepped down out of the air, walked over to the wall, waked straight up it, and became a writhing mass of shadows in the corner of the ceiling. "I'm gonna take a nap." She said, her voice slightly distorted. "Wake me up in a few hours to go get you your intel."Finn nodded at her as he sat down on the bed.

"Gummy, can you take us to the armory?" He asked, smiling.

"Oh, no, King Finn. Only members of the goblin army may take weapons from the royal armory!"

"Is that the rule?" Finn asked. Gummy nodded, frowning. "And that's exactly how it's written?" Another nod from the royal head of staff. "Then there's no problem. I just wanted to see if I could get a little bit of armor. If the rule's just about weapons, armor should be fine, right?"

"I...I suppose..."

"Great. So where is it?" Finn asked, heading out of the room and picking a random direction. Gummy quickly corrected his course and took him to the armory. Finn tried on a few pieces, picking out a pair of leather gloves, leather bracers, and leather grieves. Jake took ten pairs of steel gauntlets and stuffed them all into his polymorphous body.

"Dude, you think you're gonna need all of those?"

"Of course. I'm gonna be throwin' all kinds of crazy punches. They won't know what hit 'em. And then I'll tell 'em I did it. And they'll be all, 'oh, Jake, you're so strong! You beat our butts with your twenty hands of punching awesomeness!' Y'know?" Finn chuckled, smiling.

"Totally. Now let's get back to the bedroom." After they ate breakfast, Finn and Jake sparred in the training fields, Finn using a large stick instead of a sword as Jake struck from several fronts at once with arms covered in extra thick skin, his torso thin and tight as a result. They trained for hours as Edana headed to the archery range. She instructed several of the guards to throw bean bags at her as she practiced. It wasn't long before she was able to dodge incoming fire as she incinerated her targets. What she could not dodge, she would burn. After a few hours of practice and training, the trio settled down for lunch. Finn ate his sandwich hungrily as Jake made one for Edana.

"I should probably try to learn to prepare my own food at some point..." She pondered as she took a bite.

"You just worry about the fight. You'll have plenty of time for that later." Finn told her, sounding a bit worried.

"You need to chill out." Jake told him, stuffing his own sandwich into his gaping maw. "Getting stressed is gonna make you stiff. You gotta be loooooose." To punctuate his sentence he began stretching and waving around to illustrate his incredible flexibility.

"I...I know. We can do this...Jake, can you help them with some, like, barricades and stuff? Or, dig a big trench around the city or something?" Jake nodded and set to work as soon as he finished chewing.

"My turn then?" Edana asked as they found themselves alone in the training yard.

"What do you mean?"

"This morning, you asked me what was wrong. Now it's my turn to ask you the same question, I think." Finn frowned.

"This...this isn't going to be like Scorcher...it's not even gonna be like a maze or a dungeon or something. This is a big honkin' mess of a battle. There's gonna be tons of people and monsters fighting and we're gonna be smack dab in the middle of it...what if you get hurt?"

"You'll just have to protect me." She said, smiling softly, though she had tears in her eyes.

"I...I'll do my best, but...It's gonna be chaos out there, Edana..."

"I know. That's why I'm not in the front lines." Finn cocked his head. "I'm magical, fire based artillery, Finn...I go in the back of the army and lob fireballs at the enemy...that's my job. Your job is to keep them from getting to me." She kissed his cheek. He tightly wrapped his arms around her waist, sighing lovingly.

"You're right...I won't let them touch you." He told her, smiling a bit. Finn began training with the goblin soldiers, teaching them tips and tricks for combat he had gathered through years of adventuring, as Jake continued work on fortifications, and Edana resumed her practice, focusing more on dodging than she had before. She didn't feel particularly worried about her ability to avoid injury, but she saw how worried Finn was, and that had sucked the confidence right out of her.

Hours passed, as they tend to do, and the sun fell beyond the horizon as the group gathered in the royal guest chambers. Finn began poking Marceline with a broom handle. "Marceline. Marceline, wake up. Marceline." He prodded her for a while before she finally drifted down from the ceiling, reverting to her humanoid form. She gave a mighty yawn, stretching far beyond human capacity as she did, and looked around.

"Where...oh right, goblins. War. That stuff. Night time yet?" She asked, scratching her back. Finn nodded, and she flew out the balcony door at ridiculous speeds. As they waited for her to return, they went ahead and had the royal chef bring them some dinner.

She came in the balcony door, cackling, a few hours later. "OH GROD! That was SO fun. Haven't caused a panic that big in a while!" Gummy quickly rushed to her side.

"Your Majesty-"

"Marceline." She insisted, glaring at him threateningly.

"Er, yes, what information do you have for us?" She sighed, thinking back to before she got to cause her huge panic.

"Well, let's see, about two Battalions of Earclopses, about a quarter of them will be able to be mounted on Tarantucats. They got a squadron of Rattle Frogs, and about fifty Scarepions." Finn scratched his head.

"Scarepions? Aren't those the little scorpions that wear wigs?"

"No, those are hairpions." Jake corrected. "Scarepions are the giant ones with the fear venom."

"Right. I don't know how this guy got all these monsters together, but he seems to have a knack for controlling them. Anyway, I did my part. Also bought you guys some time by freakin' 'em out. I think I'm gonna head home."

"Thanks for the help, Marceline!"

"No prob, Finn. Kick some butt out there for me, okay?"

"You got it!" All of them waved to the Vampire Queen as she floated out the balcony window once again, this time at a much more leisurely pace. Gummy ran out of the room, quickly returning with a map of the surrounding area and some small statues to represent forces on both sides of the coming battle.

"Well, King Finn, would you like to begin planning a strategy?" Finn looked at Gummy for a moment as he thought. As soon as he opened his mouth, he saw Jake shaking his head, making him rethink what he was going to say.

"...I'm not here to plan the battle, Gummy. I'm just here to fight in it." He finally answered. "I don't know the first thing about how troops should work. It's usually just me and Jake, and we don't...y'know...have the lives of the goblin army riding on our shoulders..." He looked downcast as Gummy's face began to reflect resignation to living under Xergiok's rule once more.

"I know something about troop movements and basic tactics..." Flame Princess spoke up, but immediately regretted it as she saw all of them turn to her, excitement and hope on their faces. "But...Not for this situation...The Fire Kingdom has only ever worried about annexing other lands...Which is easy, because the only tactic we really need is to make it hotter...we don't have to defend because only we can stand the heat..." She frowned. "I...I'm sorry, I should've thought before I spoke..."

"Actually, that gives me an idea." Jake smiled. "We just call in your daddy, and he has his army help the goblins!"

"Jake, you're not listening...the only real strategies we learn or practice involve burning things to the point where our enemies can't live in a place anymore. If we do that here, the Goblin Kingdom would be burned apart..." She looked down to the floor, sparks glinting in her eyes. "Again..." She added, quietly. Finn put a hand on her shoulder, frowning. Bringing in an outside army probably wasn't a good idea...at least...not from the Fire Kingdom... He suddenly brightened, grabbing his phone out of his pack and dialing it frantically.

"PB? It's Finn. The Goblin Kingdom is going to be at war soon...It's their old king, Xergiok. He's awful and abusive and a total butt face, and...Yeah, we're gonna help in the big battle, but...No, nobody...yeah, we'd really...if you'd just...oh. Ok. See you soon!" He hung up. Within the hour, PB walked in the room's door, dressed as a general, or, at least, a general who wears only shades of pink and purple. The Morrow was visible through the window, flying off into the distance. Moments later, she was fully briefed on the situation, and began planning out their defense, adding to the equation the banana guard troops that would be arriving during the battle to capture the enemy in a pincer maneuver.

Recognizing that they were probably superfluous until it came time to be given their instructions, Finn and Edana went out on the balcony, staring out into the night, as Jake wandered down to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Finn looked upward at the stars, sighing. He turned around, looking up, and smiled, taking Edana's hand.

"Finn?" She asked, unsure, as he stepped up onto the railing.

"Come on." He told her, smiling. She shuddered at the prospect of being on such unsure footing so far above the ground, but something in his smile pushed all her fears aside. He climbed up onto the roof, pulling her up with him. She hugged him tightly, feeling a bit panicked from that brief moment where she had nothing under her feet. As the panic subsided, she still held tight to him, blushing a bit. He smiled down at her, but burying her face in his chest wasn't why he brought her up here. He slowly peeled her off, and laid down on the sloped roof, looking up at the stars. As she followed suit, she smiled. She'd never felt so encompassed by them before. The whole night sky was almost all that was in her field of vision, the only exception being the charming young man to her left.

"Things are gonna be a little hectic..." She said quietly. "What with all the preparations for battle..." Finn nodded, knowing where she was going with this.

"Don't worry. Even if we have a little less time for stuff like this, we'll have plenty of time once the fighting is over." She smiled at him, and nodded a bit.

"The stars are so beautiful..." She sighed, turning back up to face them. "Thank you for bringing me up here...how did you know about this view?"

"I didn't. But I thought it might be here, so we came up to check." He turned to her and smiled. "That's what adventuring is about. Seeking out stuff that you don't know if it's there. And fighting monsters. And getting treasure. Man, adventuring's about a lot of stuff..."

"Well, this view counts as a treasure to me." She sighed, looking to him once more. He nodded in agreement before scooting over towards her, softly kissing her.

"I love you..." He said, smiling.

"I love you too, Finn..." The two of them spent hours laying on the roof of the tower of the Goblin Kingdom's palace, eventually falling asleep beside one another. An act that, in the morning, their stiff backs and sore muscles seemed to be trying to scold them for. They were found on the roof in the morning by Jake, who awoke them and brought them to the Castle's dining hall, seating them, of his own accord, between him and Princess Bubblegum.

"Where were you two all night?" She asked.

"We were on the roof." Finn told her, smiling.

"Yeah, we fell asleep looking at stars." Edana blushed. Bubblegum's face faltered, but settled back into a steady smile.

"What a romantic experience it must have been!" She said, smiling at them both. Edana had seen the change in her expression, and put a hand on her arm.

"Could you come with me for a moment?" Bubblegum frowned, nodding.

"We'll be right back." She told the boys, walking away from the table and into an empty hall. She put a hand on Edana's shoulder. "You're very observant..." Edana nodded in response. "I know you saw me grimace, but please, don't worry about it. I'm fine, ok? It's just...there was a time when, well, he would've made sure I was involved in finding some wonderful view..."

"That's not what I wanted to say..." Edana broke eye contact, staring at the floor. Bubblegum looked at her, worried, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Bonnibel...You know I'm going to be fighting to protect these people, right?" The elder of the two princesses nodded. "I... Well, it's going to be dangerous, and...Finn kind of made me realize how big the risk to us is...And even though magic artillery would go in the back of an army...I'm still a big glowy target."

"Don't worry. We'll have you well protected." Bubblegum said with a tender smile.

"Bonnibel, stop it." Edana's voice grew firm as she stared into Bubblegum's eyes. "I...I need to know he'll be ok if something happens to me...I need to know he'll be able to be happy... If...If I die, then I want you to..." There were tears in her eyes. Bubblegum hugged her tight.

"You already know why I can't...The obligations it would force on him would be unfair..." Edana cried into Bubblegum's shirt, singeing it.

"But...but he'll still be happy...and...and..."

"It's a moot point anyway, because nothing will happen to you." She walked away, making some notes on a small piece of parchment as she headed back to the mess hall. Edana stood by the door, watching after her, confused, for a moment, before hurrying back to her seat between Finn and Bubblegum, still unable to keep herself from feeling guilty for coming between them.

Throughout the meal, Finn often watched her, worried by her suddenly becoming so taciturn. As they finished eating, he approached Bubblegum, Edana taking some time to tend to her own needs in the restroom.

"Princess Bubblegum?" He asked, watching her scribble on a piece of paper. She looked up at him, and smiled.

"What's up, Finn?"

"What did Edana want to talk to you about?" Bubblegum frowned at him, thinking of how to respond.

"Alright, Finn," She sighed, "Let me ask you this: If she wanted you to know what she had to say, wouldn't she have said it at the table? Or asked you to come with us?" Finn frowned at this.

"Yeah, you're right...I'm just worried..."

"I understand that, but you have to trust in her. Have faith in her judgment. What she said wasn't something for you to hear, and even if it was, don't you think it's kind of rude to come to me to ask what she wanted to talk about, instead of asking her?" Finn considered this for a moment, and nodded sadly.

"You're right. Thanks, PB." He gave her a quick hug before taking a seat to await Edana's return, which did not take long at all.

As soon as she entered the room, he hopped to his feet and gave her a tight hug. Of course, given how open they were with their affections, she didn't see this as anything strange at all, and eagerly returned the hug. He contemplated asking her about what she said to Princess Bubblegum, but decided to just enjoy the calm before the coming storm.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's notes: First, I'd like to apologize for the rather lengthy delay. Every time I started trying to write this chapter, I got hung up, or had computer problems. Seriously, I've lost like five drafts. I'm just going to skip the battle. Action scenes are one of my biggest weaknesses anyway, and every time I tried to write it I got thrown off track. One last thing to point out, all of Rainicorn's dialogue came from imtranslator dot net, which let me translate to Korean and back to English on three different translators at once. So, if it's not coming out of one thing right, maybe just use that site and do three at once, and try to figure out which one is the most likely intended translation. Or just make inferences based on context.

Jake the dog awoke on amidst a field of fallen warriors. He stood weakly, looking at the monsters and soldiers who lay motionless on the ground. Slowly, he felt himself beginning to panic. "Finn!" he whined nervously, looking about. There was no response. He began sniffing and found his way to his brother's corpse. "FINN! No! Who did this to you!?"

A familiar voice sounded behind him. "I warned you Jake. I told you you would hurt everyone."

"D-dad?!" Jake spun, looking his father in the eyes. "But...But you said I'd hurt everyone who is EVIL!"

"Don't be a dummy, boy! That was a hallucination! This is an honest to gob haunting! Get your visions straight! You killed the monsters, then you turned on the goblins! You killed Bubblegum. You killed Flame Princess. You killed Finn." He began to lift a long round body from the ground.

"No...NO!"

"You killed the rainicorn you love, Jake!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Jake, snap out of it! Come on!" Finn frowned, tugging at his brother's ears. "How long does this take?" He asked Bubblegum.

"Well, normally the antivenin would purge the scarepion venom immediately, but he was so big when the stings sucked him into a nightmare, it's gonna take a little while for the antivenin to circulate." Finn nodded, frowning, as goblins surrounded Jake's trembling form, pushing his flesh inward, trying to make him smaller.

"Can I help? Please? Or can I do anything at all?" They heard Flame Princess's voice from a pipe running nearby. The pipes all congregated in a single furnace nearby, melted shut by her powers as she channeled flames through the pipes, spraying fire out into groups of enemy monsters when the goblins had been pushed back out of the areas.

"You just focus on keeping calm. I know being shut in a tight place can be stressful, but we're tearing the furnace apart as fast as we safely can." Gummy told her.

"Alright...I'll try..."

"I'll see you soon..." Finn called toward the pipe. "Well...we're sure he's gonna be ok, right?" he asked, giving his brother a pat on the face.

"Oh, of course, even without the antivenin, the fear venom would only be a problem for about a week, and it only causes permanent damage in people from lumpy space." Bubblegum smiled, stroking Jake's face. "He's such a good boy, helping beat up Xergiok's mean old army..."

Almost a half hour later, the furnace was dismantled, and a physically and mentally exhausted Flame Princess climbed up the side of Jake's body, kneeling her hero. She hugged him gently, yawning a bit. He turned toward her and hugged her tightly. He'd wanted to be there for both her and Jake, but had listened to her insistence that she'd be fine, even though she'd just spent four hours waiting for goblins to hack her out of the furnace they'd built for her, and her legs and back were very stiff as a result.

"How are you doing?" he asked her, frowning.

"Sleepy... little sore..." She mumbled, then pulled gently out of the hug. She began stroking Jake's head, trying to soothe him. As the goblins finally finished compressing him to his natural size, they had climbed down, and were both hugging him. His trembling had stopped. Now, he was simply snoring.

"What should we do now?" Finn asked Bubblegum, holding the hand of a very sleepy Edana.

"Well, he needs his rest. You should probably take him home, so he can wake up safe and comfortable in his bed." She gave the dog a pat on the head, and called over a pair of banana guards, giving them a stretcher to place Jake upon. They lifted the dog onto the stretcher, and ran to Finn and Jake's home, yelling their siren sounds as they went. Finn turned to the exhausted Flame Princess. He wasn't sure how he was going to get her home, with the amount of power she'd expended, and the amount of energy he'd spent fighting.

Bubblegum smiled, staring at the two of them. "Why are you two just standing there?"

"Well, I..." Finn frowned.

"We're really tired..." Edana explained. "I think I'm almost out of stored up energy..." She squinted at her ring. "I'm not really sure how to tell...I..." She paused, letting out a massive yawn. "...What was I saying?"

"You thought your ring was empty...and...we're tired." Finn reminded her.

"Right...very sleepy..." She rested her eyes, leaning against him. Finn put his arm around her, blushing a little.

"Don't suppose we could get a lift?" He asked Bubblegum.

"Sure!" She called to her giant swan, the majestic beast landing next to them. She took her place at the head, as Finn climbed on, helping Edana up after himself. She held onto him from behind as he held his backpack on his lap. As they flew, he called Lady, to let her know of Jake's condition. He quickly passed the phone to Peebles when he realized he couldn't understand what she was saying.

"She'll be there when you guys arrive." She said, hanging up, and giving back the phone. She dropped them off and returned to her kingdom. Finn climbed up the ladder, then back down to help the stiff and sore Edana up the ladder. Jake was ensconced in Lady's cuddling form, and he had tears in his eyes.

"Jake! You're up!" Finn and Edana rushed to his side, Lady making room for them to give him a big hug. He pulled them both in tight, whimpering a bit.

"Good boy!" Edana told him, pushing away her exhaustion for the moment.

"...Finn...it was so horrible...I saw some really whacked out stuff, man...I...I killed everybody..."

"Naw, man. It was just a nightmare. You charged into the scarepions head first, and they were climbing all over your huge fighting self. None of it was real."

"I know, I know...I just...it felt so real, y'know? I'm real shook up..." All three of his assembled friends frowned, petting him soothingly. Jake sighed and looked up into Lady's eyes.

"...I...Lady, I love you so much..." He hugged her tightly. "Finn, I love you bro!" An extra arm grew out of him to hug his brother. "And Flame Princess, we haven't known each other very long and I'm trying to give you guys privacy so I don't know you as well as I probably could but glob it, I love you too!" Another arm appeared, embracing her. He buried his face in the Rainicorn's shoulder, sobbing softly as memories of his nightmare played over in his head.

Finn contemplated asking what exactly he'd seen when he was unconscious, but felt that bringing it up might only make things worse. On the other hand, whether he mentioned it or not, Jake was still suffering from it. If they knew exactly what bothered him, they might be able to help him through it better. After a few moments of deliberation, he'd made his decision.

"So what happened in the nightmares?" Lady and Edana paused, shocked that he'd been so forward. Jake turned to face him, quivering a bit.

"I...I went totally bazonkers, man...I mean, I blacked out, and then I woke up in the nightmare and found out that the nightmare me went flippin' nuts... I killed everyone...I killed all the goblins...I killed Flame Princess...I killed you...I killed Lady, and she wasn't even there! And dad was there, telling me that he warned me I'd hurt everyone...and...man...it...I didn't even KNOW that was my greatest fear anymore..." Jake finished speaking and curled up, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Jake, I cannot believe that you would ever go bazonkers enough to hurt any of us intentionally." Edana told him confidently.

"Yeah, maybe...it just...They really hit me where it hurts. And I don't ever want to hurt any of you, ever!"

"하지만 제이크, 당신은 알고 당신은 가끔 나를 다치게 하는 때 그것을 좋아하지!" Lady responded, frowning a little.

"...We're not talkin' 'bout that!" Jake shouted, eyes wide and blushing furiously.

"그래서 부끄럼, 사랑 하지 마십시오. 알다시피, 그들은 결국 나를 이해할 수 없다." She told him, nuzzling his cheek.

"Still weird talkin' about it in front of 'em!" His eyes darted between his lover and the two youths he lived with. She giggled playfully.

"걱정 마세요. 이해합니다. 난 당신이 악몽에서 당신을 혼란 했다."

"...Oh. Oh yeah! Thanks, Lady! I feel a lot better." He kissed her on the nose.

"Wait, really? What did she say?" Finn asked, confused.

"It...Um...Ancient Rainicorn Wisdom!" Jake blurted out, as Lady struggled to keep from bursting out in laughter. Once she regained her composure, she spoke.

"그가 나에 초점을 맞추 었습니다. 두려움이 약화되어 있습니다. 그는 똑똑하지만, 그는 매우 복잡하지 않습니다. 내가 그를 좋아하는 많은 이유 중 하나입니다."

"...Can you just tell us what she says? I mean, maybe I missed something because I'm new here, and I didn't want to sound dumb, but...why aren't you just translating for us?" Flame Princess asked Jake, with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, well, she said that she made me focus on something else, so I'm not as scared anymore. And that, even though I'm smart, I'm not very complicated. And that's part of why she loves me." He smiled and hugged her tightly. "And I love you too, Lady."

"...What else did she say?" Finn asked, curiosity piqued. He got his response before he even finished his sentence, however.

"YOU'RE TOO YOUNG FOR THAT." Lady burst out laughing at her boyfriend, as Edana and Finn exchanged an uncomfortable glance.

"We...should probably be getting to bed..." Edana told Finn, who nodded quickly in agreement.

"That sounds like a good idea." He helped her up the ladder, and went into the bathroom to change into his pajamas. When he emerged, he found her in her own set of pajamas, a silk shirt and pants, laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Finn frowned at the serious expression on her face as he moved around her bed to his own.

"Is something bugging you, Edana? I mean, if you don't feel like it's something worth talking about, that's ok, but you look kind of...worried." He laid on his side, looking at her. Her frown shifted to a full blown scowl for a moment, and then back, as she contemplated the impending discussion.

"...Jake has some pretty big fears..." She finally told him. "It's got me thinking about some of my own..."

"...Yeah, me too...but I guess I'm lucky about that." He sighed as she turned towards him, a curious glint in her eyes. "...I'm afraid of the ocean."

"Well, who wouldn't be?" She asked, eyes wide, before remembering some biological differences of their people. "Oh right...You can swim in it. And...it doesn't hurt you. Or, wait, does it hurt you?"

"Nah. I don't really get it, but I deal with it. Well, as well as I can deal with it. I mean, I've got some other worries, like the Lich...I don't know if you know this, but we almost lost Bubblegum because of him...But for some reason, a bunch of salty water scares me more than he does."

"I can't really understand what it would be like to NOT be afraid of the ocean..." She said, looking back up at the ceiling, finding faces in the patterns on the wood.

"You don't have to tell me, but I'm kinda curious now...what are YOU afraid of?" Finn asked, before she had time to ponder the reason she kept making out faces.

"...I don't know if I can tell you...I mean, I have a few things I'm scared of...like, REALLY scared of...But I don't know if you'll really get it. I know you'd try, but...I feel like it's...different, y'know?"

"Nuh uh. But that's ok. Like I said, you don't have to tell me." He adjusted himself, nestling into his bed of animal furs, and sighing contentedly. "If you ever change your mind..." He paused, letting out a yawn. "Just let me know, ok?" She nodded, then rolled onto her side as he drifted off to sleep.

If she told him that part of her still worried that she was evil, wouldn't he just laugh? He was always convinced she was a good person, and there had been no changing his mind, even when she had attacked the goblins. He would just tell her that it was bunk, or that she was worrying about nothing. If she brought it to his attention, she would need him to be willing to listen, or maybe to just discuss it with her, but how could they talk about something that he didn't consider to even be an issue? And now, she found that she feared talking about her fears. As exhausted as she was, these worries kept her from sleeping soundly. As she finally drifted off to a fragile and fitful sleep, she resolved to talk to someone else about her problems in the morning.

The princess awoke several times throughout the night, and finally once in the morning. The moment that she saw the sun was up, she crept down the ladder. Jake and Lady had fallen asleep in a cuddly heap on the floor.

"Jake?" Edana whispered, gently patting him. "Jake, I want to talk to you." Still receiving no response, she began to shake him gently.

"Wha buh what?" Jake mumbled as he was stirred from his dreams.

"Jake, can we talk, please?" She stared pleadingly into his eyes, her face distorted with worry.

"...Yeah, ok." He gently climbed out of his cuddle pile with Lady, kissing her on the nose as the two of them went outside. "So, what's on your mind?"

"I just...I have some things I'd like to talk about that I don't feel comfortable discussing with Finn. And...one of those things is why I feel so uncomfortable about it." She explained to him that she felt that, if she discussed her fears with Finn, he might not take them seriously.

"Well, what are you scared of?" Jake asked, confused.

"...You had come to terms with the idea that you would not, in fact, hurt everyone. Yet the fear still haunted you. Likewise, I...still believe I might be evil, deep down inside."

"Heck, even Finn got a little nuts and did some evil stuff before. A whole city of bad people corrupted him."

"Really?...I guess...anybody can go bad..." For some reason, this knowledge actually made her feel better. She didn't know if it was because she felt her fears were validated, but she certainly felt more relaxed.

Meanwhile, Finn and Lady watched from a window, each having woken up without their beloved nearby.

"What do you think they're talking about?"

"왜 나 한테 물어? 당신은 내 대답을 이해하지 않습니다." She replied. He paused, and looked up at her.

"...I'm not sure why I asked...I can't understand you anyway."

"내가 말했듯이." She sighed.

"...Was that what you said when I asked what you thought they were talking about? That I wouldn't understand you?" She nodded. "Oh. Sorry."

"괜찮아요." She smiled, patting him on the head.


End file.
